Art of the soul
by Bringmethekawaiisenpai
Summary: Soulmate AU. Lucy and Levy are roommates and are nearly desperate to meet their soulmates, despite that fact that they aren't sure what the art of their soul truly means. When Lucy's past has come up to haunt her, it's never been more uncertain whether or not art of your soul is stronger that the art of hate. M because of lemon, mentions of rape, abuse and dark themes.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

 **Here we are again... I get inspired too much but I never finish stories.. Currently I have, like zero inspritation to work on Lonely Stars or A New Journey. So PLEASE review or something and help me getting back in the game!**

 **As for this story, I read a story by MissyPlatina(by the way, check her out because she's amazing) and I got inspired. So here we go!**

"Aaaargh!" Lucy grumbled. She was lying on her bed, on her back while reading a book. Her blonde hair was lying all over her pillow and she had her legs bouncing on the edge.

"Why can't this guy just admit he likes her already? It's so obvious, all this cutesy stuff he's saying to her while they're talking online. But he can't ask her out? And why can't she put two and two together? IT'S SO OBVIOUS!" she cried while clutching the book to her chest.

The girl reading the book was Lucy Heartfilia, a 18-year-old college student. She had beautiful blonde hair, bg brown eyes and a very well formed body. Curves in all the right places, curves she'd use to get some guys to carry her heavy books for her.

"My, my, Lu-chan, are you getting worked up over that book again?" Her roommate decided to join in her one-sided conversation.

Her name was Levy McGarden, a cute petite girl with blue hair and big, hazel orbs. Although she had a petite body, she was already 18 years old. And when you measure her IQ... Well let's just say she was very, _very_ smart. Hence why she was chosen to join in the Magnolia University Honours programm.

Not that Lucy wasn't smart, but she just couldn't compare to Levy.

"Levy-chaaaaan! Why are fictional people so stuuuupid?" Lucy sobbed. At least in books people always found their soulmate, even if it took them a while. At least they all found true love, something that she could only dream of.

In this world, people were born with tattoos that their respective soulmate also had. It represented something that they both loved, so each tattoo was unique.

"Now now Lu-chan, I'm sure the writers do this on purpose. Otherwise, their sequals wouldn't have such high selling rates, now would they?"

Levy sat down on the edge of Lucy's bed, popping the lollypop out of her mouth. While holding the ball of candy in her one hand, she quickly sent a text message with her phone in the other hand.

"Lu-chan, I've decided. You have been sulking over this book long enough, so tonight we are going out!" she happily exclaimed, clapping her hands together. And just like that, the little lollypop fell out her hands and on the floor.

Lucy's eyes widened in shock. Levy and her lollypops. Whenever she dropped one, she would get in this really weird, depressing mood talking about how nothing could ever cheer her up again and how the world was a very dark place.

A dark aura filled the girls' room as Levy got up, with a dead expression in her eyes. "Say, Lucy. Why do bad things happen to good people?" Her voice was monotone and her face turned expressionless.

"Aaah, Lecy-chan, you see.. It's because uuh.. Because it's all a test! Yes, that's it! A test! And you passed!" Lucy waved her hands all over, trying to calm the suddenly depressed girl with a desperate face. Levy in this mood was n't very enjoyable.

Her attempts were futile. The other girl stood up from her bed and walked the room out. Well, walking wouldn't be the best way to describe it. More like she was a doll of some sort of creepy puppetmaster, with hollow eyes and a gloomy aura. Her orange dress swayed a little at the movements of her hips, making ik look like she really was a doll.

"Oh well, guess I can't help it. Maybe I have a lollypop left somewhere, but first I gotta make sure I look.. Okay? Yes, I'm going for okay!" Taking into consideration she's been laying on her bed all day reading, she decided her hair was a hopeless mess. After brushing it through for what felt like at least 50 times, it still looked like a birds nest. So Lucy decided to just give up and tie it up in a high ponytail.

"Yosh! Now, should I wear some make ups?" She looked around in their tiny bathroom. Make up products, mostly Lucy's, were lying all around, together with a lot of head bands(those were Levy's, Lucy doesn't create all of the mess mind you, although she is responsible for the most of it) and hairbrushes.

Overall, it was just a total mess. Not that they cared. They were two teenager girls after all, a messy environment was just their natural habitat.

Lucy couldn't decide on what she should wear tonight. She decided to grab her phone and look up some outfit posts on Tumblr for some inspiration when her eyes fell on the tattoo on her wrist. Levy had a small tattoo too, but Levy's tattoo was on her collarbone.

These tattoos indicated the soulmate of the bearer. Every tattoo was unique for that single purpose. Only the soulmate had the same tattoo, making it easier to find true love. Everyone was born with a tattoo, so that no one had to live through the pain of heart break anymore.

At least, that was the idea. In reality, it was pretty hard to find your soulmate. For all you know, your soulmate could live on the other side of the world and you could never meet him or her. Not that that happened. In fact, for some reason your soulmate always lived in the same country as you.

But in Lucy's and Levy's case, they still haven't found their respective other halves. Which frustrated mostly Lucy.

Lucy's small tattoo was made of some flame-like design together with a small, golden key in the middle. Lucy hoped, that since the tattoo was pretty unique, even for their world, it would be easier to find her soulmate. But no, God decided to play some mean pranks on her.

Levy's tattoo consisted of a open book. On the pages a character was drawn with piercings in their face. Of course, it was impossible to identify the face. They were that cruel.

"Levy!" Lucy yelled out, being a bit concerned for her roommate. "Are you still sulking in your room?" No response.

The blonde groaned before stepping over the pile of dirty clothes. She really had to the laundry later. While she grabbed her phone out of her purse, she also noted a familiar wrapper. Thank the heavens, she still had a lollypop left.

Lucy barged into Levy's room, to find her sobbing on her bed. Her blue locks were spread all over her blanket and her face was buried in her pillow, the gloomy aura still as strong as ever. Levy hadn't found herself a new lollypop.

"C'mon Levy-chan. You were the one who decided we should go out tonight. Then OUT we go!" And with that, she threw her lollypop on the bed of her roommate.

"Lu-chan... Did you just.. _Found me a lollypop?_ " The bluenette lifted her head, eyes filled with stars. She had brought her hands to her face and Lucy recognized that look. Levy always had that look whenever she found a new book, or she saw a cute guy and she decided to tease Lucy with it. All things together, she looked determined. The gloomy girl from seconds ago was thrown out of the window.

"A-actually.." the blonde mumbled while retreating out of the room but tripping over some clothes. She fell on her ass but still continued to escape from the room.

"Lu-chaaaaaan, you really want to go out tonight, don't you~?" Levy started to tease, the lollypop in her mouth. "Yay! Raspberry flavour!" Levy cheered, then suddenly getting up.

"We don't have time to fool around! We have to get ready for tonight!" And with that, she stood up from her bed, running towards her closet and grabbing some cute clothes. She was fully committed to finding the cutest outfit she had in her closet. Who knows, she might meet her soulmate this night. And even though he was her soulmate, she still wanted to impress him. Was that weird? Probably. Not that she cared.

After some, or actually a lot of time of trying on outfits and hairstyles, the girls had finally decided on what they were going to wear for the night.

"Say, Lu-chan.. Do you really think we'll be meeting our soulmates soon?" Levy asked in a serious tone, adjusting her white headband. She decided to wear a pair of brown shorts, a cute white frilly top that created the image of a cleavage and a pair of brown boots.

Said blonde was just finishing applying her mascara when Levy asked her.

"To be completely honest, I have no idea. You know how much I dream of meeting him. Although I wish I could just figure out what this tattoo means.. I mean, the key obviously stands for finding a steady home, something that can withstand anything. And that's something I look for. But why the flames? Is my soulmate some sort of pyromaniac?" She let out a bubbly laugh, before her expression turned serious.

"Not that I'd mind." Her eyes turned soft. "After all, he still is my soulmate. Speaking ill of him.. I don't know, it just doesn't feel right."

"Yeah.. You're right," the blue-haired girl replied. She looked into the mirror, at her small and yet increadibly detailed tattoo. "We'll see," she spoke softly.

Just like that, the girls continued to get ready for their night out.

 **##**

"We're here!" Levy happily exclaimed. Their favourite bar didn't look very crowded, but it was busy outside. Then again, it was the most popular bar on campus. There actually were a lot of bars around, but this one just happened to be the most popular for some reason.

The name could be read in shiny red letters, flashing green and blue occasionally. ' _Fairy Tail_ ' the letters said. Tonight it was karaoke night, so it would be a bit more crowded than the usual Saturday night's out. Not that they cared.

"Are you ready, Levy-chan?" Lucy wore a beautiful little red dress, combined with a pair of high heels. To complete her look, she wore a winged eyeliner and her hair tied up in a high pony-tail with some loose strands. All together, she looked like a bombshell.

"I am, Lu-chan!" the other girl shot back at her, eyes shining with excitement. No matter how many times they got here, the experience always stayed _magical_. And that's what they loved about the bar.

During the day, it was a regular cafe, where you could come and sit, sip your coffee, cry over your essay that is due the next morning and you haven't done anything about it yet because you told yourself you had _plenty_ of time or just hang out a bit with some last-years.

Lucy herself had always imagined her as one of the cool kids, one of those kids that were incredibly popular, had top grades and an amazing social life. Currently, the only thing she was known for was falling down the stairs while spilling her coffee all over their professor. Even now she was still known as coffee girl. Or maybe that was because of how she managed to throw her coffee into her hair.

Just don't ask questions about Lucy's social life around campus.

Levy was just as well known as Lucy, but she was known for the right reasons. Levy was known because she was super smart and had the best grades in every subject. The girl decided to follow an extra course 'because she was bored in her regular classes.'

All of that didn't matter now. What mattered was that they were known customers of Fairy Tail and that they got in without having to stand in line, thanks to their Fairy Tail mark. The mark was only visible in black light, but their faces were well known around Fairy Tail now.

Once they were inside, they went straight up to the bar.

"Mirajane! How have you been?" Lucy asked the beautiful barmaid. Mirajane had gorgeous white hair, big blue eyes and an amazing body. She usually wore a kind smile, but she could also be very scary.

Mirajane was one of the people in the bar that had already found their soulmate. Her tattoo was one of a lightning bolt combined with devil-like creature. Her soulmate was Laxus Dreyar, the grandson of Fairy Tail's owner.

"Hey girls! I've been fine, thank you for asking Lucy." She offered them a kind smile, before asking the girls what they would like to drink this night.

"I would like that strawberry drink you made me last time, Mira. Levy-chan, what would you like?" Lucy flipped her hair over to the other side at the same moment a guy with long black hair walked by. He gave of a scary vibe, the kind of person you wouldn't want to cross.

No response. She decided to carefully tap Levy on the shoulder.

Still no response.

"Levy-chan?"

Nothing.

"Mirajane, who on earth was that guy just walking by?" Levy asked with a sudden spark of interest. Her eyes were still focussed on the place where the man disappeared.

"My, my, Levy sure is bold tonight. Are you sure you two didn't do any drinking before you came here tonight?"

Lucy's cheeks heated up at Mira's remark. She, of all people, should know that Lucy was not a heavy drinker. Lucy had gotten drunk only one time before, and she was never getting drunk again. If only she knew that Cana poisoned her drink with vodka, she would never have drank it in the first place.

"But to answer your question, that man is Gajeel Redfox. He's not new around, just barely shows up. I guess he came tonight because it's karaoke night. He loves to sing, even though he can't really sing. Why did you ask, Levy?"

Levy's eyes widened at this information. Someone who only stopped by at karaoke nights, huh? That would explain why she hadn't seen him before. Levy usually avoided karaoke night, too many people singing songs they couldn't sing.

"Because.. Well.. I _thought_ I saw his tattoo.. And it looked like mine, so I was kinda hoping that.." she trailed off, cheeks burning as bright as a fire.

Lucy didn't waste any time. She thought of a plan really quick.

"Levy, I have an idea! Why don't we go and sing some karaoke?" Lucy noticed that Levy was about to protest, but she cut her off. "If he only comes around her at karaoke night, you're bound to sing some, right? Unless you don't wanna catch his attention~" The blonde only teased, but it immediately worked on Levy.

The bluenette grabbed hold of Lucy's arm, and with a "Thank you, Mira!" she dragged Lucy off to the stage with a surprising amount of strength.

"Lu-chan! What is this all about?" Levy hissed through her teeth when they reached a dark spot where the girls could talk without interference.

Seeing Levy's face, was the final straw for Lucy. She erupted in giggles, only giggling more at Levy's angered face.

"I-I'm sorry, Levy-chan! The look on your face is just priceless!" She held her stomach that started to hurt from laughing so much.

And besides, Lucy really thought the best way to capture his attention was to sing some karaoke.

"Levy, think about it for a moment. If he only shows up at karaoke night, he must know every face that sings here or comes around at those nights, right? So the best way to stand out and get his attention is to get out there and sing! You'll be a new face! Besides, you're tattoo will be visible, so he'll know immediately if yu are his soulmate or not."

Levy puffed her cheeks in annoyance. "Fine then, Lu-chan. But I get to pick the song!"

Lucy giggled, she hadn't expected anything else from her best friend.

 **##**

Lucy took back her previous words. She had never, _never_ , expected Levy to get out there and sing to her hearts content. Let alone the song she chose. Lucy was almost too embarrassed to get out there and sing "Love Story" from Taylor Swift, but after seeing how happy Levy was, she was glad she decided to drag her out there.

Levy even made her dance some weird dances with her on stage. At one point, after she threatened Lucy with publising a picture of Lucy sleeping with a stuffed dragon plushie in her dad's shirt, she even made her dance around the stage like a bunny.

Lucy would soooo get her revenge on Levy. She might be small, but damn, this girl was a mastermind and her appearance was hella deceiving. The girl was the devil in disguise.

Now, it was almost closing hours and Levy was talking to the scary looking guy. It turned out they _did_ have the same tattoo after all. So now all that was left was to get to know each other. And stop him from calling her 'Shrimp'.

"I already told ya! I ain't quittin' with calling ya Shrimp. Your reaction is way too funny, _gihi_." His lips spread into a wide grin, leaving Levy puffing her cheeks again and mumbling things like "Rude" and "Is this guy really my soulmate?" under her breath.

Well, their tattoos were identical after all. And now she also understood the piercings. His face was stuffed with them. And his arms, too. Briefly she wondered how badly it must've hurt when he got them pierced. She herself once had her nose pierced, a long time ago when she was rebelling against her parents but they made her take it out.

Now she wished she didn't. She felt so out of place, with her books and tiny body. This tall guy, with his rough and unkept black hair and bad manners really was her soulmate. She wanted to crash her head against the table.

Fate really hated her, she thought as she looked into his piercing red eyes.

"Hey Shorty, you oughta know that I ain't all bad. I know I look like a scary fuckin' guy, but I won't mistreat ya or something. Also, ya free to go if yer scared. I ain't stopping you." Her hazel orbs softened after hearing his words. Maybe he indeed wasn't that bad after all.

"So.. After this rough start we had..." She trailed off, remembering exactly how they met.

It was during Levy's.. 7th? 8th? 10th? performance, when she had lost her balance on stage. Instead of screaming, like she normally would, she contunued to sing. Bad idea. Because when she sang the most important line in the song, she looked into a pair of piercing, red eyes. Those eyes caused her to fall off stage and onto him.

The microphone was still on, so the entire bar could hear him cursing and yelling out: "Oi Shrimp! What the fuck do ya think yer doing?!"

Levy started to blush again at the memory, but then she shook her head.

"After this rough start.. Why don't we start over? My name is Levy. Levy McGarden."

She offered him a kind smile and her hand.

"Gajeel Redfox, at yer service."

And he accepted her hand without second thought.

 **##**

Lucy watched the thing happen with a tired smile on her face. She was happy for her friend that she found her soulmate and she started to giggle when she imagined the two of them actually dating. That just looked way too funny not to imagine.

But it also left her feeling a bit sad, and a pang of loneliness shot through her. She also wanted to find her soulmate. She didn't want to be left out. She didn't want to be the odd one.

So instead of walking around the bar, she just ordered another Strawberry Shot, as she decided to call them. While sipping on her drink, she checked the clock. Nearly 2 AM. Maybe she should just leave Levy here. She had found her soulmate and even though her face lit up with annoyance from time to time, she did seem to enjoy herself. So maybe it was for the best to leave the two alone.

She grabbed her phone and checked her social media. Before Lucy and Levy had left, she had posted a selfie of the two of them on Instagram with the caption ' _About to go to Fairy Tail! Which of my Celestials will I see there?_ ' She had tagged her photo with tags as #fun, #friendship and #FairyTail. Her username was Celestial, and she had over one thousand followers. Hence why she called her followers Celestials.

She groaned internally. Why could she be popular on social media and yet be found so weird in real life? And it wasn't like she only posted pictures of her perfect life. Her gallery was filled with selfies where she had just woken up and her hair was all around the place.

Looking at her notifications, she noticed someone with the username DragonSlayer had commented on her photo.

" _See you there!_ "

See you there? What the hell? One of her followers was here too, tonight? Weird. She decided to check his Instagram for a bit, because she was bored.

Taking another sip, she clicked on his first photo, nearly choking on her drink when she saw him.

He had a great, wide smile, together with a nice tanned skin and perfect white teeth. But that wasn't the weirdest part. The weirdest part was his hair. It was _pink_. Who on Earthland had pink hair?

Oh, right, this guy had.

Lucy sighed, she obviously was tired and worn out. Taking another look at her best friend and seeing she was laughing, she decided it was best if she just left. She was tired, her throat hurted from the singing and her feet hurt from standing so much on those damned heels.

She slipped off her seat at the bar, saying her goodbye to Mira and took her bag when suddenly she felt someone bumping into her.

"Oh my God, I am so sorr- _Celestial_?"

"Huh?" Lucy turned around, to find the boy whom she had stalked online seconds ago standing in front of her.

"Uuum.. hi?" She awkwardly greeted, waving her hand. Not caring about her tattoo on her wrist.

He suddenly grabbed her under arm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Let go of me, you pervert!"

He didn't seem to hear her. Instead he gazed at her tattoo as if he just found the answers to every single question in the universe.

"You have the tattoo too?" he said, sounding very excited while rolling up his sleeve. During that action, Lucy got to take a good look at his very pretty biceps. Damn, he surely had to work out with muscle like that.

Her eyes followed the sleeve rolling up further and further, until it was close to his shoulder.

And there it was, bigger than her tattoo on her sleeve, but unmistakenly the same tattoo as she had.

A key, surrounded by flames.

"How you doin'?" The boy asked with a toothy grin.

"The name's Natsu, by the way!"

 **A/N**

 **Okay so I've reread this a lot of times and I feel like maybe it's a little rushed. But.. Oh well I guess it's an okay chapter to start with, right? Right, right, RIGHT?**

 **Okay now I'm being weird.**

 **Also, I'm very sorry if there are major errors, both in grammar and usage of words. English is not my first language, and also not my second. Well, sort of. I learned English and French at the same time. But I dropped French class and now I have German. WHAT HAVE I DONE**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading and if you don't mind, please leave a review! I'd love to hear from you guys, what your opinions are about the story and even if it is to kick my ass and say that I need to write something for my other stories.**

 **SAVE YOUR SENPAI FROM WRITER'S BLOCK**

 **Okay, I'll see you guys next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

 **Wow.. I am amazed by the amount of positive reactions I got on the first chapter!**

 **To answer a question I got, I will definitely make Gale and Nalu chapters, don't worry! I already have those chapters planned and started writing them!**

 **So, here we go! Second chapter!**

A beam of sunshine travelled through the opened window, falling on the face of a certain blonde haired girl. She was sound asleep, her hair spread out over her pillow. She had pulled her blankets up to her nose, snuggling further into the warmth they provided. The sunlight tickled her tiny nose, and she giggled in response.

"No mommy, let me sleep for a bit longer," she mumbled while turning around, ingnoring the sunlight that was now travelling all over her face.

The sun seemed determined to wake the sleepy blonde girl up however, tickling her more and more until she threw off the blankets.

"Yes, yes, I'm up. Happy now?" She looked around in her room. Clothes were scattered all around, together with shoes and wrappers from chocolate candy with strawberries. Her favourite. Just like Levy and her lollypops, there was Lucy with her strawberries.

She groaned a little, before grabbing her phone and checking her Instagram feed. She _needed_ to know if she had really met her soulmate yesterday evening. After he had introduced himself, things were blurry for the blonde.

"Come on, come on! Just load already! You have perfect WiFi, WHY WON'T YOU LOAD?" She felt like throwing her phone at the wall, maybe then her feed would load. At last, she could see new posts. Together with... _57_ likes and comments? What kind of idiot would spam her like that?

Lucy really didn't look forward to this part, but decided to tap her activity log. She peeked through her blonde hair at the loading feed.

Then, she crashed her head against the floor as she fell out of bed. _All_ of the likes and comments were from the same person. Called 'Dragonslayer'. Lucy wanted to curl up in a ball, lay down in her bed all day and watch some Netflix. She had recently discovered this new show called _Grimm_ , and she loved it. Every part of it.

"What in the hell is all that noise? Is she always this loud in the morning?" A very masculine voice came from underneath a pile of blankets, that moved a little when she had hit the floor.

"I sure hope not, I hate being woken up like this..." the voice mumbled, before deciding to show his face.

It was a sleepy face, with messy pink locks all around.

"NATSU! KYAAAAAAAAAA! GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" Lucy yelled, while using her famous _Lucy Kick_ to send him flying across her room. She quickly checkedher outfit, thank goodness she didn't fall asleep in her bra. Not that this was any better. She wore an old shirt from her dead, her dragon plushie clutched tightly to her chest.

"So.. noisy.." the boy grumbled, before rubbing the back of his head. "Not to mention that hurt like hell! She sure has one hell of a kick, holy shit." he muttered to himself, before standing up.

"Oh, it's just that weirdo from last night. Didn't she pass out when I showed her my tattoo?" His eyes started to glinster mischevious when he suddenly thought of a plan. Let's see how she would like a taste of her own medicine.

"Hey, you never told me your name, _Celestial_ ," he said, emphasizing her Instagram name. Not that he didn't know her name. Her sweet roommate, the genius girl, told him that the name of his soulmate was Lucy and that she was usually grumpy in the morning. Not to mention that she would never believe that she had met her soulmate. And that's why she had invited him over to their place.

He scratched his head absently. Didn't the blue-haired girl tell him something about definitely not sleeping in her room? Nah, probably not important. Besides, her carpet looked really comfortable, he just had to try. It wasn't like he was hurting her.

Natsu slowly made his way to Lucy, who muttered stuff like 'I can't believe him!' and 'The nerve of this guy!' under her breath. She decided to treat her self a little, and sat down on her bed again. Unfortunately, she failed to notice Natsu creeping up to her.

He crawled to the other side of the bed, then underneath it. And finally, he came out on the other side, where she was sitting.

Slowly, his face appeared and rose higher and higher, while wearing a huge grin on his face, imagining her reaction. His giggles gave him away. And that's when his eyes met Lucy's.

Later on, that morning would be remembered as "Never piss Lucy off" morning by Natsu.

 **##**

The blonde had cooked her soulmate some breakfast. She decided to cook him some scrambled eggs, together with some bacon and a glass of super spicy tea. Seriously, who the hell drinks spicy tea, just for the taste of it? Tea was hot, so if you weren't careful, it would burn your tongue off. And if the tea didn't, then the spicy flavour would.

Now that she had calmed down, and he had explained his situation to her, she decided to at least cook him some brakfast as a thank you for bringing her home safe. She decided to take a good look at her soulmate. He didn't look bad. In fact, he actually was pretty hot. Aside from the pink hair, he had onyx eyes that seemed to be able to pierce down to someone's soul. He had some fine muscle, she'd be the first to admit that. And he was nicely tanned, not too much, but nice enough to look hella attractive. Dared she even say _sexy_.

Her chin rested in her hands and she observed the boy with a light smile. She could've gotten a soulmate that was a lot worse. According to the amount of texts she'd received from Levy, her soulmate was a weird guy. Not that she'd read them yet, but she would as soon as she managed to shove Natsu out of her house. She closed her eyes, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

"Luce?" The boy noticed a small change in her behavior. Judging from how well he'd known her(which was, let's be honest, not very well), she was always smiling and laughing. This didn't seem to fit with her very well.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing Natsu, don't worry," she said while waving away the little sigh. Her eyes softened at remembering the conversation she had had with her parents a long time ago. Yet, she wouldn't tell him. Not now. This guy may be her soulmate, but she wanted to get to know him.

"But anyway, Natsu," she said while leaning in a bit closer, eyes filled with interest, "how did you know I am your soulmate?"

The poor boy's eyes nearly popped out of his head at hearing those words. His fork, filled with scrambled egg, dropped onto his plate. " _Soulmate_? Is _that_ what those tattoos mean? Mira told me that they were tattoos to identify someone who could become a great friend and was meant to be in your life! But soulmate? I'm not ready to give up my life yet! I want to travel the world! I still wanna beat that Ice Bastard in an eating contest! I want to start the world's greatest fire! I don;t want to become a daddy!" He threw his hands up in the air in despair, while trailing off about a very long list with things that he still wanted to do.

Lucy couldn't help but giggle at his childlike behaviour. "Well of course they identify your soulmate, you dummy. Your soulmate is someone who you can laugh with, someone who will become a great friend and is indeed meant to be in your life. How on earth can you misinterpretend those words?" She slapped his head in a playful way.

"Idiot."

"Weirdo." He pouted at her.

"Moro- wait. Weirdo? What have I done to deserve that name?" she exclaimed, slamming her arm on the table and giving him a very scary look.

"A-aye! Because you were saying some weird things earlier about the.. Well.. Uuuh..." he trailed off, running his hands through his looks while looking for a way to talk himself out of this mess.

Lucy's eyes started to glinster a very dangerous shade, as she leaned in and grabbed his arm. "So basically, Mister Idiot, you called me a weirdo because you didn't have a better insult. Right?" A sadistic glinster lied in her eyes and a smile has creeped his way up to her lips. Now he was the one who did all the sweating and nearly screaming.

Then, his eyes fell on her wrist. He easily freed himself from her grip, and grabbed hold of her wrist instead, pulling her closer.

His eyes were studying her tattoo with an interest she never thought she'd see again in anyone's eyes.

"Hmmmm..." He scratched his chin a little, while still gazing at her wrist.

"W-what?" Lucy asked him. She couldn't help but feel like she was being assaulted in some sort of way, with the way he was gazing at her wrist. Not to mention she was still in her dad's oversized shirt.

"Yup! I knew it!" He exclaimed, sounding awfully happy.

Lucy was almost too scared to ask him about what, but she dared to anyway.

"You're a weirdo! It says so on your shirt!"

"KYAA!" she yelped, before looking down. Indeed, the shirt read ' _Weird: a noun used to describe people like me_ '.

Without thinking, she did the first thing that came to mind. She slapped him across the face, and not very softly either while useing her other hand to cover herself up.

"IDIOT!"

 **##**

Natsu was walking through town with a red hand-shape on his right cheek. That girl definitely knew how to deliver a blow. Maybe she had taken some secret lessons from Erza or something.. That would explain why she also had that kick of hers. His head still hurt from being kicked into a wall. Natsu always thought that only Erza was such a scary monster, but it turned out he was wrong. Lucy was just as scary, if not even scarier.

Maybe he shouldn't said his last remark, but it was too funny. At first, he truly was interested in her tattoo, but then he noticed the letters on her shirt. It was too perfect not to use, plus it would be a great recovery from his last slip up. Or so he thought.

Rubbing his cheek, he didn't pay any attention to his surroundings when he suddenly bumped in to a boy with raven black hair, and not a shirt anywhere near him.

"Ice brain!"

"Ash Flames!"

"FIGHT ME!" Natsu yelled out at the boy, getting ready for a good fight. It had been a while since he had fought a serious match and he could use the excercise.

"Nah, somebody else already beat you up before I could do so. Could you tell me who? I should send him a thank-you card for saving me trouble," the boy said with a slight smirk. His necklace was dancing up and down, the boy continuing his way like the encounter never happened.

"GRAY!" Natsu screamed, before running after him. "It wasn't a guy who slapped me! It was my.. My... well.. _soulmate_ ," he admitted sheepishly.

After hearing this, the boy named Gray erupted in laughter.

"You've got to be kidding me, right? The great and famous Natsu Dragneel, getting beaten up by a girl? Not to mention his _soulmate_? Oh boy, you must have screwed up big time if she really hit you this hard!"

At his words, Natsu started to blush. He hadn't really screwed up his chance with his soulmate, now had he? After all, they were soulmates. So they were meant to be. No way he could screw this up. Nope. No way to do that.

"Popsicle, you know that the whole deal of a soulmate means that you are meant to be, right? So there's no way I could have screwed up! It's all planned out!" She started laughing like a mad man, sounding like a dying hyena.

Well, that was what it sounded like in Gray's opinion.

"Listen up, Ash for Brains. If there is _anyone_ who could screw up so badly that their soulmate wouldn't want anything to with them, it would be you. So I suggest you get your ass up from here, get back and apologize for whatever it is that you've done. Because only you could screw up that much."

Gray's eyes softened. No matter how much he and Natsu fighted, he still was a very precious friend of Gray, and he didn't want to see Natsu down. Especially after meeting his soulmate.

Gray himself had met his soulmate a while ago, a cute girl named Juvia. After she had met him, she kept calling him "Gray-sama" for some reason. Oh well, looking further than her little weirdness, she still was a very cute and sweet girl with a very kind heart. She was also good friends with two girls on campus, although she kept calling them "Love-Rival" because the girls hadn't met their soulmates yet.

According to Juvia, the girls were really pretty and well known around campus. One girl was super, super smart and the other girl was the girl who had thrown coffee over their professor. Although now she was also known because she was genuinely pretty.

Unfortunately, Gray himself never got to meet them. Natsu would always drag him off somewhere and he could barely say goodbye to Juvia before being taken away to the city. He would often find himself in some sort of weird shop that only sold the hottest tabasco sauce ever invented by humanity. Serious, what was wrong with that boy?

"Gray! Our fight has to wait! I have more important matters to take care of right now!" And just like that, Natsu ran away, back in the direction he came from. Gray smirked. That idiot would still listen to him, no matter how much he denied it.

Natsu stopped running after a while, remembering something.

"OOOOOOOI! ICE PRINCESS! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOUR CLOTHES?" Natsu yelled out, before continuing to run, giggling to himself.

"HEY, I AM WEARING CLOTHE- WHERE THE HELL DID MY PANTS GO?"

 **A/N**

 **Sorry for the short and sorta crappy chapter. I wanted to get it out as fast as I could. I promise, next chapter is going to be fully Gale. They will be going on their first date, huehuehue.**

 **Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to review!**

 **SAVE SENPAI 2K15**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

 **I totally am great at neglecting my responsibilities. Like, I have a lot of homework I need to do, and I have a meeting at my job later today. AND I ONLY HAVE A FEW HOURS LEFT. WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE? Instead of doing important things, I just write another chapter. Three chapters in one day. Huehuehue xD**

 **Well, actually, it's more of a treat to keep you guys happy, because today was a day off from school for me, bot tomorrow I have school and work and Wednesday too and Thursday school and my volunteering work and SO MUCH I HAVE TO DO. So that's why I'm updating pretty fast.**

 **Also I don't have an updating schedule. I just randomly update. XD**

 **For those of you wondering where I'm actually from, I'm Dutch. AND LOVIN' IT. Like really, we have so many small cons every year and cute meet ups and our Lolita community is also amazing.**

 **Well anyway, I totally loved reading the reviews I got for this story. Actually, while I was typing this chapter I was reading some reviews on my phone. So thank you to**

 **\- Rockface(Guest): Huehuehue, guess you just gotta read to find out, right?  
\- SunandStars2: Thank you for your kind words!  
\- Dark Mystique: I'm glad you like it n.n  
\- NamesAreFutile: Really? I'm glad you think my English is pretty good n.n I've been taught it for oven 7 years now, but I've had some really shitty teachers and sometimes I also don't remember the correct spelling of a word, haha xD  
\- laxusdrayer2324: Fast enough for your liking? ;)  
\- Guest: Yush! Here is the Gale focused chapter!  
\- Guest: Wow, I'm honoured that you think it's one of the best fics you've read.. Now I'm also a bit scared to continue because I don't wanna let people down..**

 **Welp, those are the reviews from today. Onwards with the chapter!**

Levy huffed a little. Although she had gotten to know this rough guy, it was still a little weird realizing that he truly was her soulmate. But the tattoo didn't lie. After the two had met and started to get to know each other, the faces got visible. And surely, the face on Levy's tattoo was Gajeel's, pierced and all. When she looked at Gajeel's tattoo, she saw herself. With her nose pierced.

Yes, that's right. She decided to get her nose pierced again, after all she did truly love it and only took it out because her parents were against it. But now that she was living on her own, she had it pierced again. And fully loved it. It suited her, a small and cute ring in her nose. She was happy with it.

But currently she wasn't happy with Gajeel. He was eating like a pig, not leaving any thing behind for her to eat and not caring about the mess that he made. Annoying boy. She inhaled deeply, before finally speaking her mind.

"Gajeel! What the hell do you think you're doing? Making such a mess, not leaving any food behind for me, and worst of all, YOU JUST ATE EVERYTHING THAT I HAD IN THIS HOUSE! Now I have to go shopping, and I truly HATE shopping! So sit in this corner and think about what you've done!" she yelled at him, while hitting him with a fly swatter to emphasize her words.

Was this guy really her soulmate? Didn't God mess her and someone else up when he created the tattoos? Sure, there had to be more to him than this, right?

"Didn't know ya were getting angry with me," seemed to be his only response, his mouth filled with food.

Levy could feel her blood getting hot, running through her veins and filling herself up with anger. But before she could hit him again with her fly swatter, he mumbled something.

"I'm sorry, Gajeel. I didn't hear you with your mouth full with mouth. Mind repeating yourself after you managed to behave like a decent human being?"

"I said that I'll go with ya! I'll go and take yer annoying ass shopping so that maybe ye'll shut yer trap after that. Jeez," he muttered.

Levy couldn't believe the nerve of this guy! It was good thing Lu-chan was out with her soulmate today, or else Gajeel would've been hit with something way worse than her fly swatter. Levy saw with her own eyes how much of a kick Lucy truly had, and whe was sure that this guy wouldn't appreciate it much too.

Sighing, she send a text to Lucy.

 _To: Lu-chan ^-^_

 _Lu-chan, help me! This guy's a total scrap! If I didn't know any better I'd think he was made out of iron, so annoying is he! I hope things are going good with you and Natsu-san ^^. Please come and save me soon!_

 _Levy-chan_

After hitting the _Send_ button, all she could do was pray. She decided to play a litle game on her phone, waiting for.. Well for it to rain with diamonds or something, or waiting for floating cows. She didn't know. All she knew was that she was geting more and more annoyed with this guy, who was still eating. Just when she opened her mouth to speak again, she changed her mind and went to the kitchen to fetch herself some water.

"So, are we gonna go to the mall or what, Shrimp?"

Levy, who had just gotten herself a glass of water and was about to sip, spit out all of the water. Straight into his face.

"Oh my God! Gajeel! I am so sorry! Please, let me help you!" Levy said, obviously shocked. to be honestm she had never, not once before in her entire life, spit out her water. Or any drink, for that matter. And yet, here she was, spitting her drink all over him. Way to go, Levy.

She hung her head down. "Give me your shirt, I'll wash it for you," she said, not looking up from the ground. Her cheeks burned with embarrasment. Why did these things only happen with her? She was betting Lu-chan also had some embarrassing moments, but none of them could be as bad of this one that she just had. Why?

"It's okay, Shrimp. Don't sweat it too much. Worrying doesn't suit yer pretty little head, genius."

At his words, she peeked up. So he must've heard her name around at campus. That surprised her a little bit, considering that she was a very shy girl, unless she was with Lu-chan. Or last night, when she managed to fall on top of Gajeel and made the entire audience laugh to their hearts content. And she blushing like a schoolgirl in love, trying to get away from the stage as fast as she could.

Levy sighed internally when she remembered last night.

Awkward, was the only way she could describe last night as. Not forgetting all of the rude remarks he made about her. But she decided she had had enough. She was gonna show him what she really was made of.

"Well it seems like the only one sweating in here is you, considering how your shirt is super soaked!" And with that, she turned around on her heels, grabbing his shirt of his arm and walked out of the kitchen and into the washing room.

Gajeel stood there for several minutes, completely awestruck. So the Shrimp had some sass. Or, some sass.. More like a lot of sass. Gajeel wasn't used to people talking back to him. Especially not at his old school, Phantom High. At that school, everyone did what he asked. Coming to Magnolia university, things were different. He discovered the karaoke night at Fairy Tail and before he knew it, he would be there every single karaoke night.

But what he wasn't used to, were people throwing rotten tomatoes at him. The first time it happened, he angrily got up and beat the crap out of whoever had thrown that damned tomato. Now, he was used to it. Last night, there was a new girl. Turned out that girl was Levy, together with Bunny Girl.

He saw the small tattoo on her collarbone, and that was when he knew. He wanted to get closer, to take a better look at this little Shrimp who had the same tattoo as he did, when she fell of stage. Awkward situation created. And of course, the first thing he yelled out had to be swearing.

"Oi! Shrimp!" he yelled out, expecting an answer.

"For the last time, my name is Levy!" she yelled back.

"I don't care! Go get some clothes, some nice ones, _gihi_ ," he yelled again.

"What for?" Levy yelled, still working on the laundry.

"Because I'm taking yer ass out on a date!"

Levy nearly fell in the washing machine.

 **##**

"Wow, Gajeel! Look at all these fishies here! They are all so cute!" Levy snuggled her nose closer to the glass, looking at the cute rainbow coloured fish. They truly were cute. Their little tails swishing everywhere, their fast and swift movements, it almost was too much for Levy. They were so super cute!

Behind the happy blue-haired girl was a tall and currently very annoyed young man, with rough, unkept, long black hair. He had piercings all over his face and scared the people at the aquarium away with just a single glance, or mumbling some rude remarks under his breath about how the Shrimp managed to convince him to take her here and make him pay.

Okay, so he did offer to take her out on a date, because he wanted to get to know her better. But seriously? Going to watch some fish? He should've brought his cat along if he knew this little vicious girl made him look at fish all day long.

But damn him if he let her know he wasn't enjoying himself.

So he just strompled behind her, scaring people away from the little girl in her cute orange dress and supporting himself by putting his hands on the walls every now and then. That fly swatter of hers really could deliver a blow, damn it. He had a small raster implanted in his cheek from where she had hit him, and it might never leave his cheek again.

A grin flashed across his face. That would be a funny story to tell to their children later.

 _"Daddy, how did you get that funny-looking raster scar on your face?"_

 _"Well ya see, ya mom was bein' annoyed with me because I ate all the food there was. So she hit me with that little fly swatter o' hers and the raster just neer disappeared."_

Perfect story, 10/10 would recommend.

Levy, unaware of Gajeel's intimidating stares at people arond her, happily walked into the fish tunnel. The beams of light, whether it was real or not, made her feel like she really was under the water, swimming together with the fish. She closed her eyes and imagined herself swimming through the sea, with the fish as her company. She had always loved to swim, it made her feel free. Free from all the responsibilties she had here at the land.

"Say, Gajeel..." Levy turned around, only to meet his piercing stare. She jumped up in fright.

"GAJEEL! Why are you giving people that look?" Levy hit him, this time not with a fly swatter, but with her bare hands. "Don't you know that you're intimidating as hell and that you're scaring the life out of people her?" Levy's fists continued to connect with his flesh, only stopping when he grabbed hold of her wrists.

"Shrimp, yer here with me. I dun' want these guys lookin' at ya like yer a piece of meat. Yer my mate, and I ain't plannin' on losing you. Especially not to one of _them_ ," he said while using his thumb to point at some guys behind him. Shrimp may be annoying as hell, she was his soulmate and he finally found her. Like hell he was gonna let her get away from him.

Besides, the guys here all looked like total losers. They all looked as if yhey were about to piss their pants if he only looked at them. Not that he didn't find it amusing, but it was more weird. Sure, he wasn't that scary.

"What were ya gonna say, Shrimp?" he asked her, trying to scoff. Although it was obvious he was faking, Levy smiled at him and decided to just go with it for the time being. She would get him to open up to her eventually. After all, she had time.

"I was just thinking..." she said before being cut off by him and his laugh.

"Thinking? Whaddaya need that kind of crap for? As long as ya function, why'd ya wanna go and think about this shitty world?" he asked, laughing at her puffing her cheeks.

"Oi, Shrimp, if ya keep doing that, they might have to put ya in here too, together with these puffy fish guys! Now that I look closer, ya don't look that different to me after all, _gihi_."

Levy's only response was to step on his toes, as hard as she could.

"What the hell, Short Stuff? What were ya doin' that for? The heck is wrong with ya and yer little brain?" he cried out, obviously in pain.

"That was for insulting me, several times. And I'd like to continue what I was saying before." She turned her body once again towards the glass wall that seperated her and the fish, closing her eyes before smiling sadly at the glass.

Her delicate fingers followed the pattern in the glass as she softly spoke again. "You have obviously heard about me. Levy McGarden, the genius girl. But.. the truth is, I'm being forced in all of this. I never wanted to take the extra course, to be honest. My parents always pushed me to strive for the best. I didn't want to let them down, and that's why I follow all these classes. Because, if I don't follow them, then all of their sacrifices would be useless."

Her voice became filled with emotion and her hazel eyes started to get moisty.

"That's why I love it here so much. These fish have no idea who I am, and thus, have no expectations. They don't care if I fail my classes. They don't care if I didn't brush my hair and wear no make ups. They couldn't care less about the paper that's due the next morning. That's why I love the sea so much. It's an escape, even if it's only for a while." Levy moved her hands up to her face, wiping away her tears.

Gajeel, finally realizing he shouldn't just stand there but help her, pulled the little girl in a hug.

"I don't know what sacrifices yer talking 'bout, Levy, but I know that yer parents will be proub of ya, no matter what ya choose to do. That's what parents are for. So, don't let 'em stop ya from achieving whatever the hell it is that ya wanna do, because I know ya can do it."

The small girl decided to rest her head against his well-toned chest, before wrapping her small arms around his waist.

"Thank you, Gajeel. Thank you," she said, while looking up to him with watery eyes and a tiny smile.

"No point. 'Sides, I like to see ya smile. Lot better than when yer yellin' at me or hitting me with that damned fly swatter." His eyes glinstered a little, as he tried not to laugh. His cheeks became puffed from holding his laughter.

Realizing this, Levy started to giggle.

"Now you are the puffy fish, Gajeel! I'll go tell the staff that you've escaped from your tank!" She ran away from him playfully, before stopping and poking her tongue at him.

"Now yer gettin' it, Shrimp! It's about time ya get back in yer tank with ya little Shrimp family again! You seemed to enjoy looking at yer family, I'll make ya join 'em again," he said before sprinting towards her and quickly sweeping her up from her feet.

"Gajeel! Put me down THIS INSTANT!" Levy yelled out annoyed at his nerve.

"Oh hell no, Shorty," he grinned. "It's payback time, and I'd love to see ya reunited with yer Shrimpy family."

 **##**

Levy and Gajeel truly had had an amazing day. Levy's stomach hurted from laughing so much, and Gajeel was grinning like a mad man. After the whole 'puffy fish' and 'shrimp' incident, the two of them had been nearly kicked out. If it wasn't for Levy's quick thinking, they would never have ben welcomed back there.

After they had finally seen every single fish there was to see in the aquarium, including all sorts of shrimp that Gajeel made her look at, they left the aquarium. Levy was the one who had suggested to play tag, and before she knew it Gajeel had ticked her arm and ran off in a different direction of town, laughing his funny laugh and wanting he could see Levy's face now.

He hadn't had that much fun in what felt like forever. He had also never met anyone like her. He didn't expect her to be this super funny, sassy, and most of all daring. She dared him to come out of his shell, something that he actually liked. If someone had told him half a year ago, or even a week ago, that he would take a small girl that was no longer than 150 cm's tall in his opinion and would enjoyed himself, he would sent them to the hospital with a note attached that said the nurses had to check for mental damage.

And yet here he was, running through the streets of their small town, laughing all the time and nearly bumbing into strangers all the time. Gajeel dared to look over his shoulder, and not to his surprise, he saw the Shrimp nowhere. He let out a sigh of relief. He'd be safe.

"Resting already, Puffy Fish?"

Crap.

Levy. In front of him. With a sadistic grin on her face. Bad news.

She tagged his arm, but instead of running away, she dragged him with her to a nearby restaurant.

"Oh hell no, Shrimp! I ain't eating in a fancy restaurant! I'm broke enough already, ya little!" he yelled out, trying to escape from her grip. Many strangers were giving them looks, and he couldn't say that he wouldn't look at the bizarre scene. A small girl with shoulderlength blue hair and a pierced nose dragging along a scruff-looking guy with rough, black hair, a lot of piercings and a lot taller than the girl was while the boy was protesting and calling her 'Shrimp', while she called him 'Puffy Fish'.

"Gajeel, I am paying for the meal. You payed for the aquarium, it's only fair that I pay for our food. Besides, I'm really hungry and I'd feel bad if I made you pay for all my food," Levy explained to the sick-looking man, who was rubbing his stomach in soothing circles.

"Are you alright?" she asked him, with serious concern in her voice.

"I'm fine.." he grumbled, not sounding very convincing. "Just some motion sickness.. That's all.."

Levy felt as if her entire world was smashed to pieces.

"Motion sickness?! What am I to you, a method of transportion? Or, even worse, A SHRIMP THAT YOU CAN RIDE?" She stomped her foot on the ground in frustration.

"It's not you, ya little loud mouth. It's getting dragged along, that feels like transportion. So that's why I'm like this now," he explained to Levy. He had seen her hand go to her purse and he _knew_ that she had a spare fly swatter in there. Like hell he was going to get hit by that thing again.

"Now, let's eat! I don't know 'bout ya, but I'm hungry! Bet Lil's hungry too, so we should get something with meat in. That way, I can bring him some leftovers and maybe than he won't lay down in my bed anymore. I FIGURED IT OUT!"

Levy smacked him across his face, her's being flushed. "Don't cause a scene! Now come on, and get in!" She grabbed his hand, and before he could protest, she had dragged him inside the restaurant.

"Shrimp, what on earth am I doin' in here? Ya know, or at least can use yer brain to realize, that I ain't the fancy type?"

"Don't worry!" she happily exclaimed, walking in front of him. "I know the owner and the waiter really well, so it's okay. Now sit down and order whatever you'd like! I have some cathing up to do anyways!" And with that, she was gone, leaving him by himself.

He walked a bit around the restaurant, grumbling about irresponsible shrimp and how he thought that since her shrimp family was so big, she would have some sense of responsibility for those around her. But no, here he was, being ditched by a shrimp in a fancy restaurant, knowing that he was extremely out of place. Shrimp could say whatever the hell she wanted, he knew he was out of place. Oh well.

He wandered around a bit more, before finding a table next to the window. Giving it no second thought, he walked up to the table and made himself comfortable, grabbing the menu and reading it for a bit.

"The fuck is Shrimp doin'?" Gajeel asked himself after what felt like 30 minutes. His feet were on top of the table, not caring that his boots were dirty and muddy and making the table cloth dirty. He lowered the menu so that he could see a bit around, or better said, to see if his little Shrimp was anywhere near.

"Damned Shrimp," he muttered, before rereading the menu. After a few minutes, a waiter came by his table.

"Sir, welcome here. My name is Jet, and I will be your waiter for the evening. What can I get you tonight?" A guy wearing a purple blouse and werid, orange hair in a ponytail. "Weird," Gajeel scoffed under his breath.

"I'll take a hamburger, thanks." He tossed the menu back at the completely awestruck waiter.

"E-excuse me, Sir?" The waiter went on all fours to retrieve the menu, and when he got it, his face as as red as a tomato.

"Didn't ya hear me?" Gajeel asked the waiter, enjoying the look on his face. He removed his feet from the table, stomping them down on the ground.

"I said that I'll take a hamburger. Now hurry up, and get yer sorry lil' ass into the kitchen to make sure I get my burger." He lifted one eyebrow at the waiter, and stared at him with his piercing red eyes. Gajeel briefly wondered for a moment if he should do something he'd always wanted to try. Deciding he didn't care, he grabbed the waiter by his collar and brought his mouth to the ears of the waiter.

With a huge grin, he said; "Boo."

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The waiter ran away as fast as he could, as Gajeel was shaking with laughter.

Unfortunately his fun lasted short. A familiar fly swatter hit him full force in his face, and right after that he could hear her scolding.

Oh well. He had had fun, and he could see the fun glinstering in her eyes.

"So Gajeel, what did you order?" she asked him, with a smile. Secretly, she really found the scene highly entertaining, expecially since it consisted of her soulmate and one of her old childhood friends.

"Me? Oh, I ordered a hamburger. Little guy here didn't seem to get me, so I scared 'im a little. Guess I got carried away," he said with a shrug.

Levy pressed her hands to her mouth as she started to giggle. Her laughter unstelled Gajeel.

"What did I do, Shrimp? Would ya tell me?" He had a very worried look on his facem which only made her laugh more.

"Shrimp! Oi! Answer me, ya little pile of human!" Gajeel yelled out, wanting an answer.

Finally, she removed her hands from her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears from laughing so much, and she was still smiling.

"Oh Gajeel, you can't order a hamburger in a restaurant," she said.

His eyes widened.

"The hell?! What kinda place doesn't serve basic food? The fuck's wrong with this place? Why'd ya take me here, Shrimp? To make fun of me?"

"Gajeel, calm down," Levy said with a gentle smile. "I brought you here because I wanted to thank you for the fun day. This place is owned by two of my old friends, and I.. sort of figured you had a big appetite so I thought a place like this would be perfect to soothe you appetite.." She blushed when she admitted to liking the day.

"Oi, Shrimp. Seeing ya laugh like that was thanks enough. I didn't like the sad look on yer face earlier, I prefer ya laughin'. So whaddaya say, let's get out of here and go to some fastfood place?"

Levy laughed.

"Let's go!"

And with that, the two of them jumped up and ran out of the restaurant, giggling like two teens in love.

 **That's it! I hoped you liked it! I made it a bit longer, like, 4k+ words without my ramblings. Huehuehue xD**

 **Don't forget to review, I love hearing from my readers and I love hearing your opinions and ideas that you might have for this story!**

 **And now I gotta run for that damned meeting. See you all next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here we go again. Neglecting responsibilities. Lol jk. I don't have any homework, like none. So I had some time to write after I got home from work.**

 **Last time we had the Gale chapter, and _please_ tell me I wasn't the only one laughing out loud whenever Levy used the fly swatter. Yes, I think I'm pretty hilarious at times.**

 **So here's the next chapter, Nalu centered. I'll tell you, I laughed out loud again at the end.**

 **Here we go!**

How could he have been so terribly stupid? Just running out on his soulmate? He grumbled inside. Stripper was right, only he could have messed up so badly. Not that Natsu would ever admit that out loud. But still, Gray had been totally right. Only Natsu could mess up so bad.

A while ago, he had met this super sweet girl, Mira's sister. He really like her, like, _like_ like. Back then, he didn't know about the tattoo's. Besides, their tattoos were always covered up. The girl's name was Lisanna, and according to her, her tattoo was on her upper thigh. She wouldn't show that to anyone, for that she was way too sweet to and she would be too embarrassed to show him.

Everything was going great, they were hanging out often and having a lot of fun. Basically, she would talk with him. He had known her ever since he was kid, and he had grown fond of her. Fond enough to go out with her, and that was a first.

But when they went on their first official date, he had screwed up so badly. The memory alone was enough to make him cringe. Never again. Back then, he didn't know it was a date, he just thought she wanted to so something fun. Afterwards, Gray had hit him on his head, and Erza had nearly knocked him out when he told them.

How was he supposed to know that he had to pay?

Natsu shook his head, it didn't matter. He met his mate, and he was not screwing up this bad ever again. His feet were moving fast, contiuning to run while his brain was busy trying to remember where exactly he had come from. Luckily, he had a good sense of direction and an even better sense of smell. He knew his own smell(not that that was a very great thing, but at times like these it was useful) so he could easily make his way back.

The road was filled with small cobblestones, and he wasn't exactly wearing the most useful shoes to run on. It was a nice and sunny day today too, like yesterday. Yesterday Natsu decided to wear a casual white T-shirt with a dragon printed on it, a pair of black jeans and some sandals. After a _certain_ incident with his friends after he had taken of his shoes, he decided to wear open shoes whenever he was going out.

But now he was regretting it. Although he had ran non-stop, the little stones gathering underneath his feet were starting to get annoying.

"AAARGH! Damn it!" he yelled, finally stopping to shake the things out. All that came out of his sandals were some sandy things and finally, _finally_ a very tiny stone, not even a milimeter. God must really hate him, he thought as he put his shoes back on. Forgetting that he had stood on the cobblestones and the little stones and sand were now glued to the soles of his feet.

Damn it.

After cleaning his feet, one at a time and then putting his shoes back on, he was hit full force in his face with a book bag. He fell back into the small garden beside the road, nearly unconscious.

The last thing he remembered before passing out was a very happy girlie voice, that sounded very familiar to him.

 **##**

After Lucy had chased Natsu out of her home, she finally was able to enjoy her morning. Lucy streched a little, before allowing herself to sit on the most comfy chair they had around. It basically was a bed, but in a chair form. She loved sitting there, reading a good book and with some tea. If she had all that, and maybe some snacks, she was settled for the day and would not move from where she sat down.

After sitting in her chair for a while and reading her book, _Virtual Flames_ , she couldn't keep her heart in the reading. For some reason, she kept picturing the two main protagonists as herself and Natsu. And it didn't help with her current situation. Not at all. Not that the writer did a bad job, she loved the style this writer had. It was funny, flashy and fast, but nothing felr rushed, nor did it feel dragged out. It was perfect to read at any time.

Except now.

She smashed her head against her chair, groaning in frustration. Why did every single thing she did today remind her of that stupid pink-haired boy? And to make matters worse, Levy was out for the day.

She hadn't received anymore texts, after she had read the one where Levy desperately pleaded for help. Lucy couldn't help but a giggle a little. She knew Levy always had a fly swatter with her. And she was not afraid to use it, so this Gajeel guy must've met Levy's second best friend already.

Giggling, she imagined his reaction. In her fantasy, he started to blush and then pick her up. Levy only continued to hit him with the fly swatter, in the end leaving a permanent mark somewhere in his face. She laughed out loud when she imagined him going out and having to explain the mark to everybody else. And she was not ashamed of laughing out loud, all by herself.

Lucy decided to grab her laptop for a bit, see what kind of assignments she had due the next week and which ones she could stall with lame excuses like 'I still have two more days to write 10 pages' or 'I really need to read this book right now/see the next episode from this show/watch the sequel to this movie'. In the end, she would only bring herself into more trouble, so she usually ended up sitting in Fairy Tail, crying over her coffee. She also somehow always ended up in the fetal position until Mira felt bad for her and gave her some free strawberries.

When she opened the document one of her professors sent her, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She didn't have a paper due anytime soon. All she had to do was read the books from the subject. Not even the whole book, only the first 6 chapters.

Was God trying to make things up to her? Because she still was not over her crappy soulmate with his bad manners and annoying toothy grin that made her feel all wibbly wobbly wanky inside.

Stupid boy.

Lucy decided that the best way to distract her thoughts was to go to Fairy Tail and have some strawberries. After all, there still hadn't been a problem that strawberries and a lovely piece of cake couldn't solve. Or maybe this time she shouldn't order the last slice of strawberry cake..

A pretty red-haired girl had gotten very upset and continued to almost stare the food out of Lucy's mouth, making her feel very uncomfortable. Let's add that said redhead also had a mental breakdown when she learned that the strawberry cake was sold out, and there you have it. A totally embarrassing situation. Lucy solved it by offering the girl the rest of her cake.

Also not a great idea.

The girl started bowing down to her to express her gratitude, which Lucy thought was even more embarrassing than staring at her all the time. She quickly waved it away, saying it was nothing. Then, she grabbed her stuff and ran like hell back to her apartment.

But today was not going to be like that!

She got up, put on a pair of comfy shorts, a loose fitted shirt that somehow always exposed her shoulder, a pair of cute pick socks and a pair of low-cut training shoes. Lucy quickly tied her hair up in a pony tail, using a pink ribbon to make it look cute and then grabbed her bag, before running off.

While walking towards Fairy Tail, she started talking to herself. It was a habit she had developed over time, to make her feel less lonely. Today was no exception. Although the weather was lovely, not many students were out. A lot of them were probably hangover, she thought to herself.

"Yosh! So after I've bought myself some coffee, I think I'll ask Mira about a new book. Not that Mira is much of a book lover, but she does love the romantic books. Although she also tends to like the books with some.. naughty scenes in them. Well, nothing I've never seen before. I mean, Levy reads those kind of books all the time. She even made me read 'Fifty shades of Grey!'" After that comment, Lucy started to blush like hell. She quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard her, but no one was in sight.

Except for some idiot running like.. well, like an idiot. The person was closing in on her, and she wanted a better look. She turned around, forgetting that she had her bag hanging on her shoulder. It swung around too, and hit the person full-force. When she realised who the runner was, she groaned while cursing her look.

"But where did I go wrong?" she yelled into the air, before looking down at the knocked out boy.

She couldn't leave him there, now could she?

An evil smirk decorated her face as she thought about drawing a moustache on. Or even better, a monocle! Or cat whiskers! So many ideas!She quickly searched her bag for a permanent marker. Luckily, she had one with her.

She giggled evilly while drawing on the moustache, cat whiskers and monocle.

"He is going to be so pissed when he wakes up, hehehehe," she giggled to herself. "Serves him right though! Shouldn't have yelled at me and called me weird. Stupid boy," she muttered before giggling again. She was loving every second of this already and he hadn't even woken up.

After leaving him sleep for about five more minutes, she decided to wake him up and act like an innocent passer-by and not someone who knocked him out and drew on his face.

 **##**

"Lucy? Why are all these people giving me weird looks?"

Lucy decided to take him with her to Fairy Tail, so that as many students as possible could see him. She laughed in her fist when she thought she heard some cameras click. They were never going to let this live down.

"Hm?" she replied, looking into his eyes innocently with her big, doe-like eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she continued, making her way through the line.

"Anyway, would you like a drink?" she asked him, still with that innocent look. Her mind was working really hard. If she managed to drag him in line, chances were that Mira was going to tell him. She didn't want that. So it would be better to have him sit down on a couch while waiting for his drink.

"Eh? You're gonna buy me a drink?" He looked surprised. Maybe he hadn't screwed up as bad as he thought, if she was offering something so kind. Thank his lucky stars for getting such a sweet and caring soulmate. Natsu was really scared of meeting her again. He thought she was going to kick him again, of something like that. And yet, here she was, offering him a drink.

"Well.. I'd like a spicy tea. Ask Mira, she knows which one I like. If you don't mind, I'll sit down somewhere. My head still hurts from being kicked by you and then knocked out by some stranger who didn't even stop! So rude," he said, before making his way over to a couch.

"I will, Natsu!" she said as she waved happily at him. After he disappeared from sight, she started to laugh again. "Man, I bet this is going to be great."

She quickly made her way through the line, thanks to knowing most of the staff. She had been in line for not even five minutes and it was her turn already.

"Hi Mira!" Lucy happily waved at the pretty barmaid, who looked stunning as always.

"Hello Lucy! One sweetened coffee, am I right?" Mirajane replied, with a kind smile. Lucy was a regular, and Mira remembered all the drinks of her regulars. Expecially one so pretty. Mira always enjoyed teasing the younger blonde with her love troubles and her not having founf her soulmate yet.

"Actually.. I also need a spiced up tea.. Natsu said you'd know what kind of tea, but I'm not really sure," she mumbled, cheeks burning up from being a bit embarrassed. The barmaid always mingled in her love life, and after this it was only getting worse.

And indeed, Mira's eyes grew very wide, as she started to gasp.

"Natsu? Is he here?" she asked eager, wanting to find him. When she found him, her eyes widened even worse.

"But what's that on his fa-" "Quiet Mira! He has no idea. And I have no intention of telling him," Lucy added with a smirk.

Mira understood. Lucy probably wanted revenge after last night. She gave the girl every right to.

"Alright, here are your drinks!" Mira help up to cups with their names written on it. "Don't worry about the money," she added when she saw Lucy taking her wallet. "It's on the house. Seeing Natsu like that is priceless," the barmaid said.

"Thanks Mira!"

Lucy was very happy. Natsu still had no idea about what was drawn on his face, and in the time she had been in line, some of his friends had joined him. She recognised a strand of wavy blue hair.

"Hi Juvia!" Lucy made her way to their couch, placing their drinks on the table. "Here you go, Natsu. The special spiced up tea," she said while handing him his cup. She missed the warmth it provided, so she decided to hold her own coffee with both hands.

"Hello Lucy-san. Juvia is glad she meets Love Rival here with Natsu-san. That means Lucy-san is on a date, even though Nats-san looks ridiculous. But Juvia is mostly happy because this means that Love Rival won't go after Gray-sama," Juvia said with a small nod towards Natsu's face.

"Wait up, Juvia!" Gray exclaimed, hands up on the air. "You're telling me that coffee girl here is 'Love Rival'? And what does that have to do with anything, anyway? We have matching tattoos, we're soulmates." Gray shoved his hands back into his pockets.

"Aah thanks Juvia, but we're not really on a date. You see, Weirdo here was a little pissed this morning- wait, what do you mean I look weird?" Natsu looked around bewilderd, now noticing Juvia's comment.

Gray exchanged looks with Lucy in the meantime, who was giggling. He secretely high-fived her, before returning his gaze to neutral.

"I don't see any difference. Natsu always looks stupid, if you ask me," he said with a cool air.

"Juvia agrees. Next to Gray-sama, everyone looks stupid. Also, Juvia doesn't understand Natsu-san. Who would go out with a drawn on monocle, cat whiskers and a moustache? Although Juvia has to admit, the moustache is drawn nice and curly," Juvia said dryly.

"What do you mean, drawn on?" it was then that he noticed Lucy giggling like mad, together with Gray laughing and Juvia trying to hold back a smile.

"LUCY! I AM SO GOING TO GET YOU BACK FOR THIS! How _dare_ you look so damned cute and innocent while saying weird stuff like 'Natsu-sama, you look handsome like always' but lying straight up to my face!"

"Hey! I never called you Natsu- _sama_ and I ost certainly don't think you are handsome! You look a lot better with this moustache," she said while holding her stomach from shaking with laughter.

At this point, Juvia was also openly laughing.

"You're trying to tell me that I've been here for 15 minutes with a drawn on moustache, a monocle _and_ cat whiskers?"

"Yup," everyone said, not caring about Natsu.

"I HATE YOU LUCY!" he yelled out.

"Love you too, Natsu."

 **A/N**

 **Hope you liked it!**

 **Also, the story Lucy was reading is a fic on here, _Virtual Flames_ by MissyPlatina. She's like my writing senpai, although she probs doesn't know I excist.**

 ***cries in a corner***

 **But really, if you like my fic then you should really read _Virtual Flames_ bc it's super funny.**

 **That's it for the day!**

 **Please, please, please leave me a review, I really love reading them! Also, don't forget to follow/favourite!**

 **I'll see you guys next time(probably Friday, lol).**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**

 **Told you guys that I'd be back at Friday! At least, it's Friday here. 10.03 pm, but still Friday.**

 **Everyone who has reviewed, thank you so much! I was feeling pretty sad today(I had a dream about a guy I still love and in my dream he FINALLY realized he loved me too and well at that point I woke up so you can imagine how I felt after I woke up..) but reading them really warmed my heart! So thank you a lot!**

 **Also you guys know you can message me when you're struggling, right? If you've read some of my other work(PLEASE read Lone Stars then, it's a shit ton better than A New Journey, but anyway) then you know I have self-harmed too and I want to help anyone who also is struggling with those problems now. I may be just a weirdo who writes a silly story, but I get really serious when it comes down to this.**

 **Senpai has stopped by at her job today while wearing heels that were about 13 cm high, so she's super happy she didn't fall over. Like, really.**

 **Also since I am a model and I do a lot of fashion shows for hairdressers my hair has a lot of cool colours and an epic cut. Work disagrees. So I have to work with wig. But I'm actually happy about that because I have to go in the freezer and my wig functions like a beanie so that's good. Warm head. Warm ears. YEAH.**

 **Also, I'm sorry that this chapter lacks some NaLu, but I really wanted to write this chapter ever since I started. So sorry about the Naly lack and I hope you don't mind too much.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Love you too, Natsu."

Said boy nearly fell out of his chair. What the hell was wrong with this girl? Seriously, those big eyes, and nice blonde hair, and although he hated to admit it she did have a good sense of humour. Let's not even get started on her big, beautiful boo- oh no, he definitely was not going there.

"E-eeh, Luigi, listen up," he panickly said, waving his hands all around. He was close to starting to steam, and with that, litterally, steam. As in, steam coming out of his mouth, and ears, and everywhere else.

"It's Lucy! _Lucy!_ " she said, looking very mad and also very threatening.

"Listen up, Cupcake. I still have another permanent marker in my bag, and I think it's safe to say that Gray won't mind holding you for a while while I draw some more art on your face. And it will be a whole lot worse than what you're wearing now," she said in a low, scary voice that immediately shut both Natsu and Gray up.

"S-say, Natsu," Gray said as he bended over towards Natsu. "Are you sure that she doesn't happen to have any kind of relation to Erza?" The raven haired teen looked pretty startled and he needed at least this piece of information to ease his mind. Gray actually started to sweat, which was a bad sign.

"N-no, not that I know. But I did thought that too, when she kicked me full force in my face," Natsu replied, shaking with fear for the blonde girl who was now happily chatting with Juvia, occasionally giving some death stares to the two boys who were still whispering and obviously frightened.

"Damn," Gray muttered. That means that we are definitely at a disadvantage here. Juvia might know something, but I doubt she'll tell us while Lucy is still here."

"Juvia might know what?" Juvia joined the conversation, staring at her Gray-sama with hearts in her eyes.

"Aaah, eeeh, you see.." Gray trailed off, scratsching the back of his head absent-minded while trying to avoid looking at the girl. He wasn't sure, but for some reason he thought he had seen some hearts in her eyes, and that definitely was very low on the list of things he could use now. Damn those girls.

"Juvia would be glad to be of service for you, Gray-sama," Juvia continued, not aware of Gray's discomfort and Natsu's dumbstruck expression, nor Lucy's questioning expression. "After all, Juvia is you soulmate, which means that you will spend the rest of your life with Juvia and if you can't rely on Juvia now, than Gray-sama will never rely on Juvia. Where did Juvia go wrong? Does this mean that Gray-sama dislikes Juvia? Does Gray-sama not want Juvia as a soulmate?" At this point, Juvia started to tear up, making Gray feel even more uncomfortable here.

"Hey, Natsu, mind giving me a hand here?" Gray asked the pink-haired teen. Juvia was cluthing onto Gray's arm while muttering stuff like 'But where did Juvia go wrong?' and 'Maybe if Juvia loves hard enough, she can convince Gray-sama to stay,' not to mention the very disturbing 'Juvia just has to get pregnant or something, that way Gray-sama won't leave her.'

Natsu gazed at Gray for a second, letting out a soft 'Hmmmmm,' before shaking his head.

"Nope! I'm not gonna help ya with this one, Ice Princess!" he cackeled, whereas Gray looked like all of his hope was gone. Everyone was still ignoring Lucy with a very puzzled look on her face.

"P-Princess?" Juvia looked very shocked. "Then, does this mean that Juvia's soulmate.. is a _girl_? But Juvia is not gay, is she? Well, Gray-sama is obviously very handsome, but that is only because he is Gray-sama. Juvia thinks that Gray-sama would also make a very handsome girl, but she doesn't know if she can actually pull off a long-term relationship with another female, because that means that Juvia needs to look out for male Love Rivals as well.." Juvia's cheeks were burning while she was talking out loud. Suddenly, she pointed to Natsu.

"You! Love Rival #2! Stay the hell away from my Gray-sama! Or Juvia will make you regret it," the blue-haired girl added, voice low and a threatening look on her face.

"Say, Natsu, don't you think it's about time we leave now?" Lucy carefully asked him, not wanting to face Juvia's wrath.

"Yes!" Juvia shrieked, making Lucy jump out from her chair. "Love Rival #1 should take Love Rival #2 with her! Plus, they have matching tattoos so Love Rival #1 and #2 are meant to be! What a relief," Juvia sighed, returning to her old self.

"Luce? What about my face?" Natsu asked the blonde, who was not believing her eyes about the change she'd just seen with her friend.

"Oh, don't worry Natsu," she said as she snapped out of her trance. "I have some face wipes with me, they should take the eye liner off your face."

" _Eye liner_? You mean it wasn't a permanent marker, but _make ups_? Great," he grumbled, smashing his head against the table.

"What? You really think I'd be cruel enough to use a permanent marker on your face? I just wanted you to suffer for a while, and now is a good time to end it. Plus, I can't have a soulmate with cat whiskers, a monocle and a moustache, now can I?"

She offered Natsu her hand, a wipe and a very kind smile.

As soon as he had wiped his face and Lucy assured him that it was all gone- even pulling out her small pocket mirror to show him- he grabbed her hand.

"Let's get out of here, Luigi!"

It's Lucy!"

 **##**

When Natsu said 'get out of here', Lucy wasn't sure what to expect from him. Maybe a nice restaurant? Of a cafe for a nice lunch? Maybe a picknick at the park? Or at least something interesting, right? She figured he must've had at least some sort of normal sense knocked into his thick skull somewhere, but of course, her hope was in vain.

She sighed. How did it come to this? Lucy didn't remember agreeing to this. If Levy told her that _this_ was how she would spend her morning, Lucy would have laughed straight into her face. And yet, here she was, being dragged along. She couldn't believe it. How on earth did that boy manage to make her do this? Oh right, by not telling her where the hell they were going. She had to figure it out for herself.

She wanted to smack her head against something, _anything_ , just to make sure that this was actually happening. Although, on the other hand, she had to admit that it also was kind of sweet. Really sweet, actually. Natsu made her shrink a little in her seat. A boy that was that nice, she actually didn't feel like she deserved him.

It wasn't like Lucy herself was a very mean person, it was just that she appreciated her free time for herself and a nice marathon of series and movies on Netflix. But this boy truly was something else.

"Sis? Are ya gonna continue to read?" A boy with dark purple hair asked her. If Lucy remembered correctly, his name was Romeo. A nice kid. His dad unfortunately was away a lot, had to do a lot of jobs to provide a living. That was why Romeo was in the free daycare, where Lucy now was too. Sitting on the floor, surrounded by small children and a book filled with fairytales on her lap.

"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry Romeo-kun," Lucy said with a smile as she ruffled the boys purple locks. "I guess I got carried away a little."

"Huh? But how is that possible? You never left the room her, Sis," Romeo said with a very confused expression.

"It's a saying, Romeo-kun. People say that when they start thinking a lot and forget their surroundings. They are so lost in thought, sometimes they can't even hear you." She smiled at the children around her.

Besides Romeo sat a girl with pretty blue hair whose name was Wendy Marvell. Her real parents were unknown, so she was taken in by an elder lady named Grandeeny. But because Grandeeny was of age, and because she thought it was very important for Wendy to interact with other children, she let Wendy go to daycare whenever she wanted.

Wendy was a cute, kindhearted girl who also was a little clumsy. When Lucy and Natsu had just arrived, the children had been painting on some paper(and later on on Lucy's face, on Natsu's order). Wendy had accidently knocked over her water bowl and all the water had spilled into her painting. Since she was a five-year-old girl, it was only natural for her to burst out in tears.

Lucy had rushed over and asked the small girl what had happened. Wendy could only point at her now-in her opinion- ruined painting. But when Lucy showed her how pretty the colours were now gliding all over the paper and beautifully fading out and evolving in another one, Wendy had been estatic. And ever since that, she had followed Lucy everywhere.

In her circle were three other children, children that she didn't know all too well but liked to listen to her story anyway. Because beside of what it looked like, Lucy was secretly reading her own writing. She had hidden her cellphone in the book and was reading her own story.

"So, it's kinda like sleeping, right Lucy-san?" Wendy had asked her with a smile. "Then I might like it. Grandeeny says that sleeping is good, but that you shouldn't sleep too much. But I disagree, I love sleeping. Especially the dreams. Dreams are always so wonderful, aren't they?" Wendy trailed off, a dreamy look in her eyes.

Lucy let out an awkward laugh. Little did these kids know that the story they were listening to was inspired by one of her dreams.

"Sis, are ya gonna continue?" Romeo asked impatiently. He wanted to know what happened next in the story, but since he couldn't read very well yet, he wanted her to continue to read.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry Romeo-kun.

 _'You are a very brave man,' the princess said to the dragon, who had just transformed to a man in front of her eyes. 'Not only have you saved me, but you have also saved my entire kingdom. And for that, you have my thanks.' The princess bowed her head to the dragon, showing the dragon her gratitude.'_ "

"What is gratitude?" A girl with her hair in a braid asked Lucy. Her eyes were shining at the idea of a real life dragon, but she did want to understand the story.

"It is a word used when people are really thankful for someone's help.

 _The dragon didn't bat an eyelid at her confession, nor did he react to her bowing her head to him. He had never understood all of these annoying formalities, rules that the nobles had to use. He preferred normal talk. And, of course, because he was a dragon, he had a really thick skull and was not very smart._ "

Lucy chuckled to herself, the dragon reminded her very much of a pink-haired boy who just _happened_ to be here with her too today. But it was thanks to him that she got to experience such an amazing thing, she said to herself. She continued the story, a small smile on her lips.

 **##**

" _'Princess, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?' the dragon asked the princess. His eyes were filled with fear, fear of her rejection. Instead of answering him, she just chuckled._

 _'I thought you hated all of these formalities?' she asked him, raising an eyebrow at his behaviour. 'I do, but if I want permission from yer old man, I'll have to be this polite. Annoying, if you ask me,' was his reply. The princess chuckled again, before giving him her answer._

 _'I do.' She kissed him gently on the lips, taking away all of his doubts._

 _'Besided, I also never liked all of these formalities,' she whispered in his ear._

The end," Lucy read from her phone.

A collective sigh came from her circle.

"Aaahw, what a nice story," Wendy said with a dreamy look in her eyes. She was obviously fantasizing about her own prince Charming, or in this case Dragon Rudeness. But oh, not that it mattered.

Lucy wanted to give these small children a message, something that they could use later on life. That appearances were not everything, and that anyone can find a happy ending, no matter what it is that you've done in your life. Everyone deserves a second chance. And never fail to try and see the good in everyone. That was the message that she wanted to send out.

Right now, it was about closing hours of the daycare where Natsu volunteered. Lucy had been wanting to read the little children more stories, but the questions about her story just kept flowing and flowing. So unfortunately she only got to read them one. Luckily, that one was her favourite story. Maybe she should submit it for her English Literature class.

Obviously, these little children had loved it. Some parents had come early to pick their children up, but waited for Lucy to finish her story. Suddenly she felt unsure of herself. What if the parents didn't want her to read their kids those kind of stories? Who was she to decide? A small kids' voive pulled her from her thoughts.

"Dad! This is Big Sis, also known as Lucy! She read us the most amazing story today, about a dragon who is a total silly guy and a super sweet and caring princess. She doesn't care about his past but accepts him for who he is and she doesn't ask him any questions and he is really funny and a bit thick headed like Big Brother, but the dragon is sillier and the princess is so sweet and dad i want to be a dragon for Halloween this year!" Completely out of breath, the boy grinned at his father.

"Well, Lucy, I would like to hear some more about this story. Obviously, my son loved it and I would also like to read it. So, where can I buy it?" he asked her, grinning just like his son.

Lucy felt her face warming up. She didn'w know how to tell him that she wrote the story. Come on Lucy, she told herself. Just take a deep breath and then tell the truth!

"Y-you see, Mr. Conbolt, actually the story from today was written by- NATSU!" She kicked him in the face when he sneaked up to her and tickled her sides.

"Yo! Natsu! How ya doing boy?" Romeo's father asked Natsu, who was also grinning wide.

"Macao!" Lucy printed the name in her memory. Don't forget.

"I'm great! Also I'm glad that you've met Luce here, she's my soulmate!" Natsu said with a smile, making Lucy blush. Leave it to Natsu to just blurt the things out. Subtility really wasn't something that he was very good with. She wanted to slap herself and him in the face.

"Soulmate, huh?" Macao said, scratching the back of his neck. He bended over, so that he could talk directly to the teen without being heard by anyone else. "I'm gonna give you some advice Natsu. Take good care of her. I can tell that she's a special girl, so cherish her, and most definitely, do not lose her. She will become the most important thing in your life." He pulled back, taking his son by the hand.

"Let's go Romeo! I bet that you're hungry and I just happen to have found the best place!" He then picked up Romeo, swirling him around while the boy was crying with laughter. "Let's go dad! Thank you, Big Sis, Big Brother!" He waved to Lucy and Natsu, before turning around and leaving with his dad.

After a while, all the children had been picked up by their parents or guardians. Wendy's guardian was a vey nice, very gentle elder lady with pink hair, like Natsu. She had thanked Lucy a lot for taking care of Wendy and she smiled gently at her daughter when she showed her the painting- the very same one that she had been crying over.

"Natsu.." Lucy started, not sure how to continue her sentence all of a sudden. She felt herself becoming shy.

"Hm?" Natsu was standing in front of the building, the sun setting on the two of them, making Lucy's hair shine brighter than the sun itself in that very moment. She still had the paint on her face that the kids had drawn on, but it made her look extremely cute. Her hair was tied up in a bun, and her shirt was stain with small paintings from the children too. He frowned. Natsu didn't remember asking the kids that.

"Did you ask the kids to paint on your shirt?" he asked her.

"Hm? Oh, yes I did. I wanted a reminder of the day, something more permanent than a drawing of a sun on my face. I let them use textile paint, so that it doesn't wash out. I don't know," she said, looking happily at her shirt, "but being there for the day really made me feel at home. So thank you for that Natsu."

"Aaaah, uuuhm, you see, it's not really a big deal!" he said, looking at her when she started to shake her head at his words.

"No, I mean that you made me feel at home. And I've never felt like that before. So thank you, Natsu." And with that, she kissed him on the cheek.

"Now, let us find a place to eat, shall we? It's my treat," she added, with a big grin before grabbing his hand.

"Let's go!"

 **And that's it!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I hope you're not very upset about the lack of Nalu, but I just love the idea of Lucy being a bit grumpy woth little kids before warming up to them and like I said earlier, I wanted to write this for so long. So here it is.**

 **Please, don't forget to follow, favourite and if you have time, please leave me a review! Like I said, they mean a lot to me and I love reading your opinions on this story and my writing!**

 **See you next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**

 **I had some time to spare today, so I could write you guys another chapter!**

 **I have some good news and some bad news.**

 **Good news, I have a break from school so more time for writing.**

 **Bad news, I als o have a lot of things that I have to do. As in, practice my horseback riding because first of November I'll be jumping together with one of the horses over 50 cms so we need to practice that shit.**

 **And I also have work, not to mention a shit ton of homework and well.. Let's just say that I have a lot to do. I hope that you guys like this! Because it's an extra chapter, one that wasn't planned! But when I woke up this morning, I saw that this story had reached 50+ followers. So here's a treat for you all, and it's a Gale centered chapter.**

 **Also, thank you all so, so, _so much_ for the reviews. I love them, I really do.**

 **Enjoy!**

"For the last time, Puffy Fish, I am not _that_ short!"

A famaliar fly swatter swung through the air before hitting it's target, the cheek of a tall man with black hair and rough hair, who was currently grinning at the small girl who just hit him with the fly swatter. His eyes were lighting up in a way that practically screamed danger, although he didn't mean any harm to the small girl. She had blue hair, that was neatly combed through and kept in place with a small headband. She had big eyes, that usually were very gentle. But now right now.

Right now, the girl was furiously hitting the tall man with her fly swatter, while the two of them had been lating down on the couch together in peace mere moments ago. She figured out he actually was a big softie, and that he too had cried when Bambi's mother had died in the Disney movie. But she didn't have any sympathy for the foul-mouthed boy now, since he had insulted her _again_.

"Oh Shrimp, now yer gonna get it!" the man yelled, before grabbing her by her sides and lifting her up into the air. A huge grin decorated his pierced face as he threw her over his shoulder and made his way out of the small living room and up to his bedroom. He had a great idea as on how to get the Shrimp back for the fly swatter, and if the blonde was right, his plan should work perfectly. He grinned while walking towards the stairs that ked to his bedroom. Shrimp was in for a treat.

"Gajeel! Put me _down_!" she yelled at him, hitting his shoulders, back, head, basically anywhere where she could land a hit. Not that it hurt the guy, he was practically made out of iron. Nothing she ever did seemed to hurt him. Well, except for that time where she stomped onto his fet with all her might. That had hurt the guy. Levy giggled at the memory, before realising again the position she was in.

She was wearing a pair of shorts, and the way he had draped her over his shoulders meant that he must've had a great view at her ass.

Damn it all to hell.

She started hitting him again, even yanking his hair which earned her a "Shrimp! The fuck do ya think yer doin'? Stop that!" but besides, nothing helped. And he nearly made his way down the stars to, into his basement. If she remembered correctly, that was where his bedroom was, together with his cat. Oh boy.

Gajeel kicked the door open and threw the small girl on his bed, still wearing that huge grin of his. It was payback time for all the times she had hit him with that fly swatter.

"Ya ready to receive yer punishment, Shrimp?" he asked her. His only response was Levy puffing her cheeks and sticking out her tongue at the guy. She was going down. He was going to wipe that smartass and annoying smirk of her face, in the best way possible. He would not just torture her. No, he would _break_ her, leave her begging for his mercy.

He started to crawl in the bed with her, but instead of hugging her, he started to tickle her. Her sides, the crook of her neck, her feet, literally everywhere.

"G-Gajeel! N-nooo! S-stip this, p-please!" Levy laughed, not being able to bear this kind of torture. She had always been very ticklish, even worse than Lu-chan, and now that he had figured out her weakness she was doomed.

"Huh? What were ya sayin', little one?" he teased, still tickling her sides as he too started to laugh at her.

"S-stop! P-please! I c-can't take the tickling anymore! Aaaah! Noooo!" she managed to say, between her laughing and gasping for air, all while he was tickling her. Tears from laughing so much started to form in her eyes as she tried to bear it, but failed.

But then he suddenly stopped. Levy, finally free, gasped for air before pulling over to see if he was okay. To her surprise, she saw tears of laughter in his eyes too as he was shaking.

"GAJEEL!" She hit his head, before an evil smirk decorated her face.

Let's see how her tin man handled being tickled.

She gently moved her hand to his side, as if she was trying to hug him. But then she started to tickle him.

She immediately got a response. His body started to shiver as he started to laugh. He had a deep laugh, one that not many people heard probably, she thought to herself. Of course, there was the occasional _gihi_ , but that was about it.

Now he was freely laughing, out loud. He had a very nice laugh, it made her feel like home. Like a small cozy house, where he would tell his kids stories about when he was younger, and laugh at the mischief that his kids had managed to do when their mum wasn't looking, like stealing cookie dough from the bowl. He would ruffle their hair, give them a wink and then eat the cookie dough all by himself.

It made her feel warm inside.

Mistake. She had let her attention wander, and now he was back at tickling her. She started giggling again, begging him for mercy.

"Shrimp, yer gonna die now!" he said playfully, while tickling her feet. She started kicking her legs uncontrollably, and it would be only a matter of time before she hit him. And indeed, she hit him.

"Oooow!" they both yelled out in unison, and pain.

Levy's foot was hurting from hitting such a hard object, which kater turned out to be his nose. Gajeel was groaning because it felt like the little Shrimp had broken his nose. Judging from the amount of blood dripping out of his nose, it wasn't broken, mere bleeding, but it still hurt as hell.

Levy carefully turned around, a bit scared, before absolutely losing it at the sight of Gajeel looking so pityful.

"Hahaha! Gajeel, your face! You look so sad, and dumbstruck, as if you can't believe I hit you!" Levy's laughter was filling the room, breaking the tension. He only shot her a look, before throwing her back on the bed again.

"You hurt me Shrimp! Now yer really goin' down!"

"Make me, Puffy Fish!"

 **##**

"I can't believe we had a tickle fight for nearly-" she checked her watch- "nearly an hour! How are we still alive?" Levy fell on her back onto his bed, completely exhausted from being attacked mercilessly. Next to her sat Gajeel, evenly exhausted but still smiling.

"Yeah we were at it for pretty long, don't ya think? But at least ya were able to live a little, Shrimp." He carefully avoided her gaze after he said that, feeling his cheeks burning up a little at the sight of what was laying down next to him.

A small girl, extremely cute, not to mention her _ass_ , his soulmate, with a face as red as a tomato, looking exhausted and therefore even more adorable. He couldn't help the sudden urge he had to protect her. Only he was allowed to make fun of her. Only he was allowed to laugh at her. In response, she would hit only him with er fly swatter. Gajeel wanted to keep the little girl safe, at all costs.

She was truly something else, this little Shrimp that he had grown to care for. Even though it had been only a few days- thank the heavens for Spring Break- he had grown fond of her and wanted to keep her at his side all the time.

An image flashed through his mind, an image of Levy as a mum. She would be sitting next to the fireplace with her small children, teaching them about the fire and what fire was meant for. She would spend hours laying in front of the fireplace, on the carpet while reading a book, or sitting there and help her children with their homework. Levy would be the kind of mum that would be baking at Saturdays and scold her children a little when they were trying to steal the dough again. Levy would be the perfect mother, flashed through his head.

Immediately Gajeel shook his head. It was way to early to start thinking about children already, and like hell he wanted Levy to know what was going through his head right now.

Said girl perked up when she heard a soft 'meow' from under the bed.

"Gajeel," she started, looking very pleased with herself, "are you trying to tell me that 'Lil's' is your _cat_? You are trying to say that you have been tortured by a _cat_?" Levy really tried not to laugh, but at his response, she couldn't help but let out a small giggle.

"What's so weird 'bout that? Ya don't know cats, do ya? Well I'm tellin' ya, the guy's a monster. For real. He'll eat yer leftovers, and he'll steal yer food from yer plate when ya aren't paying him any attention. Don't be fooled by his appearance. Like I was fooled by yer appearance 'cause damn girl, ya can sure as hell deliver a blow," he finished while rubbing his cheek. The raster from the fly swatter was still imprinted on his cheek and probably would remain there for over two weeks. More if he didn't learn on how to control that mouth of his.

"Oi! Lil's! Quit playin' and show yer ass to my mate!" he yelled to the bottom of the bed.

"Gajeel, do you really think that your cat will show up if you yell at him like that?" she asked him, eyes big. "What's his full name?"

"Pantherlily," he grumbled under his breath, half hoping she was not scolding him and just helping him out.

"Pantherlily! Kitty kitty kitty! Come on out, I won't hurt you!" Levy got off the bed and looked underneath it.

" _Gihihi_! D'ya really think he's gonna show up if ya ask him like that? He ain't that stupi- what the hell?" Gajeel's mouth fell open as he saw his cat showing up, head held high. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that the cat was _smirking_ at him.

Damned cat.

"Aaaahw! He is so cuuute!" Levy happily exclaimed, pressing him to her chest while snuggling with the small black cat. Well, he wasn't completely two eyes were surrounded by drops of white, and so was his nose and his mouth. It almost looked as if someone had forgot they were holding a painbrush and dropped some drops of white paint on to the cat. The cat also had a scar at his right eye.

Levy scolded Gajeel when she noticed his scar, still holding Pantherlily tight to her chest. Lily was purring happily, pressing his tiny paws onto her chest and rubbing his head against her chin.

"You can't let your cat fight Gajeel! I bet that is how he got that scar! Don't worry, cutie, Levy's gonna keep you safe and sound and if Gajeel is a big meanie you can tell Levy, kay?" Lily booped her nose with his tiny paw and purred a little louder, as if he truly understood her.

"Traitor," Gajeel muttered under his breath. "And also Shrimp, I didn't let him fight. He already had the scar when I took him in!" he yelled, defending his honour and the honour of his cat. "Plus, even if he did fight, I bet he would have won!"

"Wait a minute Gajeel," Levy said, putting Pantherlily down. He meowed in response, not happy with the current events but she didn't pay him attention. "You mean you took in a stray cat?"

"Uuuhm.. Yes? What? Ya got a problem with that?" he asked, demanding an answer.

"No.. It's just.. so very _cute!_ " Levy squeeled, before picking Lily up again and hugging him close.

"O-oi! I'm not cute!" he said, looking very awkward with himself.

"Sure you aren't, tiger," was her only response.

Damned Shrimp.

 **##**

Wow, who knew the Shrimp could cook? She had managed to cook him an entire meal, completely from scratch. And it tasted delicious too! Way better than the food they would probably serve at that crappy restaurant she too him to. His eyebrows furrowed as he wondered how things were going with the waiter, Jeff or something.

"Oi! Shrimp!" he yelled to the kitchen, where she was currently doing the dishes and cleaning up after the mess he had made and left.

"What?" came her annoyed voice as a response to him asking her things. If only he offered to help her, but no. He decided to sit there as if he was in a restaurant. Speaking of, she should probably visit Jet and Droy soon and apologise for the ruckus she had caused some days earlier. She wasn't sure Jet was over the heart attack he'd gotten from Gajeel.

"How's that waiter boy doin'? Ya know, the one who nearly pissed his pants?" Gajeel yelled to the kitchen, while placing his feet onto the table and playing a bit with his phone. Maybe he should have offered to help the Shrimp, but he had no fucking clue on how to do the dishes and not breaking them. Plus, he didn't want to get on her bad side by ruining everything. Although this wasn't much better.

"You mean Jet?" she yelled back to him. "I don't know, haven't visited him ever since! But knowing him, he's made a full recovery. He's fast with those kind of things, fast with everything actually.." She was almost done, now all she had to do was put away the dishes and then Gajeel's kitchen would look like a kitchen again and not like a buffet for mice.

"Gajeel?" came her voice again from the kitchen, but not sounding mad. "What's the issue, Shrimp?" Gajeel asked her, getting up and wallking towards the kitchen only to find a very embarrassed Levy with a pile of clean plates in her hands.

"I can't reach high enough to put them in their right place," she admitted, blushing madly. To make her feel even worse, Gajeel started laughing. "Don't laugh at me, Puffy Fish!" she yelled out, kicking him.

"Okay okay, sorry Shorty. Yer face was just funny, all flustered because ya couldn't reach it. Ya know, ya also could've asked me to help ya with putting the cleam dishes away. I just didn't wanna do 'em because I always break something and that damn fly swatter of yours is scaring the shit outta me right now." He took the plates from her and put them away on the highest shelf. He could reach them easily, but it was no wonder she couldn't.

How did she actually manage to get a pair of clean plates for dinner? He asked her, and her response made him feel even worse.

"I couldn't reach, obviously, and I didn't want to bother you. So I just cleaned some dirty plates her, together with some forks and knives."

She turned around again, threw away the dirty water and cleaned up the last bits of cups and mugs.

"There we go, all cleaned up! Now it actually looks like a kitchen again! Pretty neat, huh?" Levy said, flexing her 'cleaning muscle', aka the washing-up brush. She then made a quick movement with her hand, splashing the remains of water that still was in the brush straight into Gajeel's face.

"Payback for not helping me!" she yelled before excaping the kitchen.

"And don't you dare making a mess in there again, Puffy Fish, or I will hit you again with something that is far worse than dirty water or a fly swatter, so don't try me!" she yelled out again, before seeing Pantherlily.

She quickly picked him up and used him as a shield. He didn't seem to mind in the slighted. Happy with the attention he was getting, he purred softly and laid down in her arms. He let out a small yawn, before making himself comfortable and laid down his head, falling asleep.

Levy carefully held on to the little ball of furr as she made her way back to the kitchen. To her surprise, she found Gajeel cleaning up the last bits of the dishes.

"Wow, Gajeel.. Amazing," she said, admiring his work. Did he really managed to clean the stove that good in such a short amount of time? Even she couldn't do those things and she had been cleaning forever at her parents' house.

"No big deal," he grumbled. "After _someone_ forgot that the stove was also dirty and I didn't do anything with the dishes, and since this is my own place, I figured I should do this. Plus, I know how to clean iron, since I got my piercings and all." He then looked at her and saw Lily curled up in her arms, sound asleep.

Gajeel couldn't help but feel betrayed. Lily never snuggled onto anyone like that, and yet here he was, curled up in the arms of this girl. Just who was she really? Around campus, she was the genius girl. But she had to be so much more. He couldn't wait to figure her out.

Meanwhile, Levy was studying Gajeel with an observing look. He obviously was a very foul-mouthed boy, and yet there had to be something more to him. He did these small things, like putting away the dishes, or cleaning his own stove(which actually was pretty normal, now that she thought about it), and he took in a stray cat. He was a very interesting person, like a puzzle. All she had to do was search for the pieces. When she had found all the pieces, she would be able to complete the puzzle.

Luckily, Levy loved to solve puzzles, and she couldn't wait to figure this one out.

"Oi, Levy."

"Hm?" Levy turned around.

"What do ya say of hanging out again tomorrow?"

 **A/N**

 **Hope you enjoyed! I sure as hell had a blast while writing it, and I thought it was cute. And I'm the senpai. Listen to me. MWUHAHAHAHA.**

 **If you've been reading this story for a while but haven't reviewed yet, please do so! It really helps me to contunue my writing because knowing that people are enjoying my story is basically what keeps me writing!**

 **If you're new here, welcome! Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to follow and favourite! And review of course, huehuehue.**

 **See you all next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**

 **I am so sorry this took me so long! I have been so super busy! I had to work on Saturday, Sunday I had to get my hair done for the hairdressers show at Monday, and I had to work again yesterday!**

 **So yes I have been super, super, _super_ busy. **

**But here it is, the update! I hope you'll enjoy the chapter. I'll tell you guys though, this is my first fic that managed to reach over 20k words. So I am proud. And I am also super happy with the reviews I got and all the follows and favourites, because it means a lot to me. I'm glad there are people out there that are enjoying my stories.**

 **Here we go! Enjoy!**

Weeks had passed ever since Lucy and Levy had met their soulmates. They had had a lot of different dates, not all of them much of a succes. But sure enough, the girls found themselves being drawn to their respective other halves more and more.

Spring had come and went, together with beautiful days filled with laughter and splashing each other with water to cool off a little. The year at campus was finally over, and summer break was here.

Currently, Lucy was laying down on her bed with her laptop, some snacks and her best friend lating down with her. They were playing some music and were chatting away about the break and about what they were going to do with all of their free time.

"Lu-chan, are you going back to your dad?" Levy asked her slightly hesitant, knowing her parents were a sensitive subject.

The other girl thought about the question for a while, before opening her mouth. "I don't know, to be honest with you, Levy-chan." Lucy started playing with her hair while thinking about whether or not she really should go back.

Then she laughed. "You know what he's like, right? Still going on about how the soulmate thing is absolute crap for me, and that I should just marry whoever he thinks is the right guy for me." Her eyes turned soft. "I don't want that. I finally found my soulmate, and I really like him. He's sweet, funny, a total idiot with an impossible large stomach and let's not mention how he dousn't even know how to use a knife and fork!" She laughed again.

"But he's also extremely caring. He cares for all of his friends, and I don't think I could wish for a better soulmate. In these past weeks, we've become the best of friends in such a short aount of time. I mean, you are my girl best friend, but this is different. Maybe it is different because I know he's the one guy I am going to marry some day, you know?"

The blue-haired girl nodded her head in understanding. Levy was glad to see Lucy so happy, it has been a while. Sure, Lucy was laughing a lot, but this was different. Lucy was truly happy now, and in Levy's opinion, she also fully deserved it. The girl had been through a lot.

"What about you, Levy-chan? What are you going to do?" The question brought Levy back to reality.

Unwrapping a lollypop and popping it in her mouth, she answered.

"I also don't know. I mean, you know what it's like back at my home town." Levy chuckled a bit at the thought of what the people back at her home town would say about her soulmate.

"I think I'm just going to stay here. It's not like I have a lot of things to do, anyway. Plus, I have no idea what Gajeel is going to do during this break. So I guess I'll just stay here."

Lucy grabbed some chocolate from her bed and stuffed the heavenly-like stuff in her mouth. With her mouth full of chocolate, she said; "You know what?"

Levy looked up to Lucy, whose eyes were shimmering. Lucy had also balled her hands together in a fist, and was looking a little bit too happy for Levy's taste.

"Lu-chan.. What are you up to? You are actually scaring me right now," the girl said, eyes wide open and shivering a bit.

"You know about the summer house that my family owns? And how I am the only one who still has the key, considering my dad threw his away but refused to sell it? How about we go there for the holiday? We can even bring the boys, and Gray and Juvia! And maybe we could ask Erza, although she does scare me a little..." Lucy trailed off, thinking back to how she had met Erza.

It turned out that the girl who was so thankful for the strawberry cake was Erza, the beauty around campus. She was tall, a bit smaller than Natsu was, with beautiful scarlet hair and gentle brown eyes. She also had the body of a godess, but she didn't seem to be aware of it.

Erza could be a little bit scary, but she was a very sweet girl when her peace was not disturbed.

"Yeah, we should ask Erza! Plus, she is the only one who can keep the boys in line, or at least for a little bit. And to be honest, I'm not really in the mood for a holiday filled with fighting little boys, raging with hormones." Levy giggled a bit as she imagined the boys at the beach. Gray would -of course- lose his swimming pants in a record time, and Natsu would them hold hostage, grinning widely. Gajeel would then pull down Natsu's pants and then run away like hell.

Yes, asking Erza to join would be a good idea.

"So, what do you say Levy? You ask Gajeel, I'll ask Natsu and whoever sees Gray, Erza or Juvia first asks them?"

"Sounds like a plan! But first, let us eat all of these snacks!"

The girls high fived each other, turning up the volume of the music and singing along, doing some weird, funny dances and of course, rate each other's singing and dancing.

"You know, it's funny how all of this actually started with a night out and some karaoke," Lucy laughed after Levy had performed "Backseat Serenade" in a very funny way, pretending that the mirror was her other half and even dancing with it, complete with herself dressed in a dress and the mirror in a blouse.

"Yeah, you're right Lu-chan," Levy said out of breath from all the dancing, jumping and singing. "But you know, I am very happy that we went out that night. It also was a very nice night out, even though I fell off stage..." Levy turned redder than a lobster when remembering that faithful event that made her stand out to Gajeel.

"Oh yes, you're right! I almost forgot about that!" Lucy cried with laughter. She was shaking so much that she ended up falling from her bed.

"HA! Karma, Lu-chan! Too bad I didn't record it, I bet it would make an amazing video!" Levy laughed when she saw her friend falling from the bed.

"LEVY!"

"What? If my memory serves me right, you also laughed a lot when I fell off stage!"

Now it was Lucy who was turning red. "But you made me dance around like a bunny! And now your soulmate calls me Bunny-Girl! _Bunny Girl_ Levy, _Bunny Girl_!" Lucy cried out in pure horror, remembering that event a little bit too well.

"Oh.. I guess you're right, Lu-chan. Oh well, he still calls me Shrimp!"

"Well that is probably because you still call him Puffy Fish!"

"What about Natsu calling you Luigi?"

"Natsu doesn't call me weird name- wait, Luigi?" Lucy asked, surprised.

"You didn't know? He even has your name saved as Luigi, Lu-chan."

She grabed her phone and showed her a screenshot that Natsu had sent Levy. Lucy and Natsu were talking about their first date at the daycare, and he decided to sent that stupid pun he made to everyone. And indeed, she was saved as 'Luigi'. That boy was going down.

"Anyway, Lu-chan, I think we should go and ask the boys now, or else we'll be too late!"

"Crap, you're right! Let's go!"

 **##**

"A beach house? Are you outta ya mind, Shrimp? Forget it." Gajeel turned around and went back to strumming his guitar while PantherLily was in Levy's arms, snuggled up.

"Aaahw, come on Gajeel! It'll be fun!" Levy said, trying to persuade him to come with her and Lucy, but mostly her.

"Shrimp." He eyed her from underneath his armpit, looking stern and annoyed. "No offense, but could ya get yer big ass outta here? I'm tryin' to work here," he said.

Bad choice. She dropped PantherLily to the floor, but before she could even reach for her fly swatter, Lily went in full gallop and started scratching Gajeel's guitar and then continue to scratch on te strings until they broke.

"Oi! Did ya order him to that or somethin'? I told ya I meant no harm with that!" he yelled, looking ready to cry when he noticed that his cat had broken the E-strings. Now he couldn't play any kind of songs anymore. Totally ready to cry about this.

"How would I be able to do that? For the record, I do not speak cat! And besides, your remark about my ass was very rude so if he didn't scratch your precious little guitar I would have!"

"You wouldn't," he replied.

Her gaze turned dark.

"I just had a manicure. My nails are very sharp right now," she replied. When he tried to move closer, she held one hand up and said; "Don't try me." in a very intimidating voice that made him step back a little. Unfortunately for him, he forgot about his other guitar laying down there, so he tripped over it and then fell down. In a desperate attempt to remain standing, he grabbed Levy's hand and accidently pulled her down with him.

"Aaaah! Fuckin' hell Shrimp, those nails are meant to kill! Why would ya have a weapon like that?" Gajeel yelled out in pain while crashing down on the floor, barely missing his guitar.

"Well, maybe because I am a girl and it is not very safe for me to walk around on my own!" she replied angrily. "Not that you'd understand, you are ust as bad with all those remarks about my ass."

"Oi, Shrimp! I didn't mean it like that, ya know that! I told ya already, I just like yer booty! Can't help it, I'm a guy!" He threw his hands up in his defense, making him somehow look like the world's ugliest owl ever.

Levy giggled. "It's fine. I just don't really like all those remarks. So now you're going to have to make it up to me," she said in a voice dripping with venom.

"What do ya want me to do? Going back to the aquarium?"

"Oh no, I have an idea that is much better. Plus, I bet Lu-chan will allow you to bring your guitar," Levy smirked.

"Now yer going down, little one! I do not like the damned beach! What the hell is wrong with ya, ya little annoyi- wait, I can bring my guitar?"

An image was quickly created in his head, in which he would sit at the bonfire at the beach when the sun was down where he was playing his guitar. Levy was all over him and declared her undying love for him as he would gaze down on her and give her a wink. Everyone would come to watch him, from far away they would come to see the famous Gajeel Redfox play at the beach with the bonfire.

"Gajeel! Hey, Gajeel!"

Levy waved her hand in front of Gajeel, whose eyes suddenly came back to life.

"Fine. I'll come with ya. But only becaue I own ya."

Levy smirked again.

"Also, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Juvia and Erza are coming. Glad you're joining!" She hopped off the couch and left his house, but not before he could yell; "SHRIMP!" from the top of his lungs.

 **##**

"Oooh, the beach? Sounds great Luce, I'm in!" Natsu said cheerfully when she asked him.

Natsu loved the beach. He loved the feeling of hot sand under your feet, he loved the soft breeze that would say 'hi' every now and then, he loved the bonfires at the beach, he loved the food at the beach, he loved the sea and most of all, he loved the weather at the beach. So when Lucy came over to his place and asked him to join her to go to the beach, he didn't even think twice.

"Really Natsu? Yay!" Lucy clapped her hands together happily and then hugged him.

"I'm really excited to go there with you Natsu!" she said, still hugging him. She could almost hear his thoughts. He wasn't that sure about twhat he had to do. Should he hug her back? She could then feel his arms wrapping around her back as he hugged her back and pressed his forehead against Lucy's.

"It sure sounds like fun, Luce," he said, closing his eyes. "But, may I ask you why you aren't going home?"

Bullseye. Lucy could feel her eyes tearing up. Earlier today she was able to laugh it off, but now, here she was, almost crying at even the mentioning of her parents. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she play it off like usual?

Instead of giving a casual; "I don't really feel like it," she responded with a very shakily; "I don't really feel like it." Her voice was hoarse and was shaking.

"Luce? What's wrong?" Natsu asked her. He didn't say anything to upset her, right? He answered her question about her wanting to join her to the beach house, and asked about why she wasn't going home. Maybe it was something about her going home. Anytime her parents were mentioned, she brushed it off.

It left him wondering. Did she have problems back at home? Or were her parents dead? Abusive parents? He didn't know, but he sure as hell wasn't forcing the answer out of her. That would only do more harm than it would do her good.

She sniffled, before answering. "Natsu.." she said softly, crying in his shoulder. "I.. I am not going home.. because of my dad." She grabbed his scarf tightly as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

His hands were softly stroking her back in a comforting way and he laid his head on hers. He then moved one hand to her head and started stroking her hair.

"Wow, you must think I am unstable mess, right?" she said, letting out a small laugh. When she said that, he grabbed her shoulders, pushed her back a little bit and looked her straight in her eyes.

"Huh? Natsu? What are you doing?" she asked in a surprised voice.

"I never want to hear that again," he nearly scoffed.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want you saying you are an unstable mess. You can't help the situation you're in right now. You wanna cry? Go ahead and cry. Don't keep it all in, that isn't good for you. I care for you, so don't you dare ever saying that stuff again. You are too important to me. I will not let you go, I will not allow you to slip away. I am not going to force the truth out of you, that is something you have to tell me when you are ready. But I refuse to sit by and watch you go down. So don't say those things. You're not an unstable mess. Currently you have obviously shit going on back at home that's eating you away, and that's why you don't wanna go back.

"That's fine. But it is not fine to talk yourself down because of it. So now we are going to dry your tears, and then you will have to help me, because if you don't I will pack everything that we won't need."

Natsu pulled her back in a hug after his little speech, caressing her hair.

"Thank you, Natsu," Lucy said in a soft voice.

"No problem. Now hurry up! Or else I am going to fill my suitcase with tabasco sauce and then we will have only tabasco sauce to eat, and I don't think that the Ice Princess will appreciate that!"

"Huh? How'd you know that I was planning on asking Gray and Juvia? Not to mention Erza, how the hell do you know that?" Lucy asked him, eyes wide in surprise. He grinned back.

"I didn't. But now I do, so I'll ask him and Erza. You don't have to ask Juvia though. Anywhere Gray goes, she goes. Remember how jealous she got when you drew those things on my face? She said something about having to get pregnant, right? Well, it appears that sex ed has failed her completely, or she refuses to believe any of it, but she thinks she can pregnant if Gray sneezes into her handkerchief! She said something about voodoo things and now she's been trying to get Gray sneeze. It's pretty funny, actually." Natsu grinned at Lucy, who was giggling.

"She really thinks that? Wow, that is pretty funny. And a bit sad too, actually. But then, since you are asking them, and Erza, I guess it's time to confiscate all of that tabasco sauce!"

She ran over to his kitchen, searching for the tabasco sauce. And indeed, his entire fridge was filled with it.

"The hell, Natsu? Why do you have so much tabasco sauce? I'll allow you to bring one bottle, and that's all!" She stomped her feet down to emphasize her words and grabbed one bottle.

"Actually, I'll bring this one bottle with me, and confiscate the rest of it."

"Luuuucyyyyy," Natsu whined. "Why are you doing this to meeeeee?"

"To make sure the rest of our camping party doesn't get food poisoning. And don't try to to buy new ones, I have already informed every single shop around that sells tabasco sauce not to sell it to you. Funny how much influence one scary stare can have, or a flirty wink," she said, pointing her fingers at him.

"And now! Let's go! Let's fill up that suitcase of yours! Let's go!" she cheered, clapping her hands and directing Natsu up the stairs to make sure he would grab all of the important things, like a tooth brush. He would probably forget them, knowing him.

"Lucy?"

"What?"

"What are you going to do about my tabasco supply that I have in my bedroom?"

 **A/N**

 **Whoohoo! That's a wrap folks. I am sorry about the boring filler chapter though.. Oh well, those are also important. I mean, if you write only important plot chapters, your story gets a little rushed and let's not forget how your story ends soon if you do that.**

 **Anyway, I still hope you liked it.**

 **Follow, favourite and maybe review?**

 **See you guys next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**

 **Okay, I am the worst writer out there. Buuuuuuuuuut! You still love me, right?**

 **Anyway, to make it up to you all, this chapter is over 5k works WITHOUT my rambling. I also read a part to my mum and she started laughing, so that's good, right?**

 **Okay, I don't really have a lot to say. Hope you enjoy!**

"Wow..."

Everyone gazed in awe as realization dawned in on them. From the way Lucy had described her beach house, it was a small, cozy cottage that would look like a bungalow. But instead it was more like a beach mansion.

The house had seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, an extremely large kitchen and not to mention the back yard with a barbecue in it, a fireplace and even an outdoors shower.

"Now, everyone, please come in," the blonde girl said a bit nervous, before adding under her breath; "I don't want everyone to just stare at it, that is pretty embarrassing..." She waved her hand to gain the attention from Natsu and Gray, who were currently debating about what part of the sand was the best sand to lay down. Gajeel was currently pissing his pants at the idea of burying the two of them together in the sand.

Lucy sighed, this would probably turn out to be not one of her best ideas. Oh well, she'd better just ride it out and see how things would go from there rather than stay at campus and sulk at the end of summer.

The gang of teenagers grabbed their bags. Erza had brought for some reason not like everyone else a suitcate, but a chariot, filled with suitcases. And bags from all different kind of stores. Lucy could read some of the letters printed on them, before her face flushed a not yet named shade of red. Who knew Erza would shop there, of all places.

Everyone was grumbling a little from the long train ride, but were happy to have finally arrived. And maybe, just maybe, Natsu and Gajeel had overreacted a little tiny bit about the train ride. For some reason, both guys were getting extremely sick as soon as they got on the train, even when the train hadn't started riding yet. Lucy shrugged it off. Could be just some weird thing they had in common.

Although she did not appreciate the looks the boys were giving them. Although their faces were absolutely hilarious- Levy had even snapped a picture of a very pitiful looking Gajeel who had then threatened to "throw Shrimp in the ocean so she could be reunited with her family," his threat wasn't worth much considering how he almost started to barf all over her shoes.

Now that memory did bring back a smile on the blonde teen's face.

"Come on in, everyone! The faster we get settled in, the faster we can actually go to the beach!" Lucy happily exclaimed, a hge smile on her face as she entered her old house. She had lived a couple of years here, when her mother got sick. Although the time when her mother got sick was not very happy, this house was filled with the memories of laughter and of happy times.

So she didn't really care about the fact that she was back. She was the only one left from the Heartfilia family who still had the key to this house. As she shoved the key inside the door, her tattoo started to hurt a little.

"What the-"

"Luuuuucyyyyyyyy!" Natsu whined, crashing his head against her shoulder. "My tattoo huuuuuuurts!" His face truly was pitiful, she thought to herself. But then she remembered that this guy was a volunteer at a daycare and must have had dealt with worse. She even was around for a couple of times.

Like that time when the little girls, especially Wendy, wanted to learn different hairstyles. After the girls had carefully braided Lucy's hair and pinned in up in a very elegant way, the girls also wanted to try pigtails. And with an evil grin she had sent them Natsu's way. He claimed his head still hurt from all the times they had combed his hear through and tried putting it up.

"Well suck it up, big baby! Mine also hurts, but you don't see me whining about it, now do you?" And with that, she turned the key and opened the door.

"Welcome home, Miss Lucy!" A welcoming party. Consisting of the weirdest of her old servants. _Why_ were her servants here? That was when Lucy heard a small giggle coming from a blue-haired girl who was suddenly very occupied with scratching off the old paint on her fingernails. That little...

"Lucy, I must say, this is a very great welcoming party," Erza joined in as she stepped over the doorstep and into the house. "Although I do wonder why they are calling you Miss..."

"Yeah, that's a thing I'd also like to know," Gray added, unconsciously undoing the buttons from his shirt and slipping it off.

"Love Rival is a Miss? Now Juvia is truly more concerned.. A Miss is a better catch for Juvia's beloved Gray-sama than someone like Juvia. She really has to get pregnant now. GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia threw herself at Gray, succesfully locking him in her secure grip and she started to cry and mumble things through her tears like "Would Gray-sama truly prefer someone of high birth?" and "Juvia is truly sorry for being born into the wrong side of life, she had always known Gray-sama had to be a Sir and now he has found his Miss and it's not Juvia." The girl went on and on, while Gray yelled out for some help. Juvia was almost melting against him and drowning him at the same time in her tears.

"Oi! Natsu! Could you please help me a little here!" Gray desperately tried to escape from Juvia's grip while her tears continued to fall on his body and he seriously started to worry for his own safety. "Juvia is very upset she cannot be what it is that Gray desires! But Juvia can become Gray-sama's concubine! That way they can be together, and Love-Rival can have Natsu as her concubine," the girl sobbed.

"Hey! What makes you think me and Lucy will even get married? And besides, why the hell would you offer yourself as a concubine? Juvia, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" After that, Gray's voice became muffled as Juvia silenced him with her hand, muttering "Gray-sama wil accept Juvia's virginity. After all, she saved it for him."

"WHAT THE HELL JUVIA!"

"I agree," Natsu said while pinching the bridge of his nose. "I dun' want Luce married to the Ice Princess. Plus, what makes that Juvia girl think she'd choose him when she can have _me_?"

A muffled laughter came from the corner where Gray was laying down, but Juvia quickly muffled him before pulling out an umbrella and hitting Natsu with it, while yelling; "How dare you insult my Gray-sama!"

Meanwhile, Gajeel and Levy were laughing their asses off, until Juvia decided to also come at them with her umbrella and yell at them for not standing up for her and her beloved.

Gajeel recognised the glare from her, and decided to run from her like hell, but he wasn't fast enough. And sure enough there was it, the first hit, full force on his head.

"And especially you, Gajeel-kun!" She furiously hitted the tall guy with her pink umbrella on his head. "How dare you! After all those years that you have known Juvia, you decide to humiliate Juvia by not standing up for her! Juvia had expected better from you, Gajeel-kun!"

"I -ow!- am sorry for not hel-ouch!-helping ya out with yer situation but I won't promise ya -DAMN IT WOMAN!- that I won't do it again," Gajeel managed to get out in between his cries of pain and getting hit by Juvia.

Satisfied by his answer, Juvia turned her attention to Levy, who looked very scared. But instead of hitting her, she dropped the umbrella and pulled Levy in an embrace.

"Huh?" Levy said.

"Thank you, for teaching Gajeel-kun some manners. Juvia is very glad he has met his soulmate, although she does think that the picture in your tattoo could be more flattering. But maybe Gajeel-kun's barfing face is very attractive to Levy-san. Juvia is not the one to judge people for their likes and dislikes in the bedroom. For example, Juvia herself would really like it if Gray-sama would come to her room one night and tie her all up so the Juvia cannot move, and then he looks into her eyes and says with his sexy voice that he has always loved Juvia, before giving her his handkerchief and after that night Juvia gets pregnant and she and Gray-sama will have 37 babies and they will live forever happy with their eternal love!" Juvia exclaimed, a dreamy look in her eyes.

Gray looked absolutely horrified.

"Anyway Luce, what's all this 'Miss' stuff about?" Natsu asked Lucy and tried to stop her from banging her head against the couch.

"Well, I am a Heartfilia. Which means my family is rich as hell, I grew up in a mansion, I had servants, yadeeyadeeya, anyway, after a certain _someone_ ," Lucy sent a glare to Levy, who was more scared of Lucy now than ever, "told them I would be here they decided to show up and give me a welcome home party."

"Well, I don't mind 'em," Gajeel said carelessly. Everyone turned heads, except Gray who was out cold after Juvia gave him a handkerchief and some very, _very_ private things. Things he would see in his nightmares.

"What? Sounds like fun to me. 'Sides, they can help putting yer stuff away, right?" He raised his eyebrows and used Levy's head to support his arms, while she looked annoyed.

Lucy sighed a little. This holiday was _totally_ not going as she had planned.

"Okay everyone. Virgo, Loke, Taurus, would you please help my friends bring their luggage upstairs?"

"With the moooooooost pleasure, Lady Lucy!" a tall guy with a lot of muscle said, before grabbing Erza's chariot and carrying, yes, _carrying_ the thing upstairs to a room.

"Yes, Princess!" a young woman with short pink hair said in a monotone voice. "After that, will we receive punishment?"

"No Virgo.. Please," Lucy said as she went back to banging her head against the couch, until a smooth hand grabbed her head.

"You shouldn't do that, my beautiful Lady." A boy, not much older than Natsu or Gray, with an orange mane and a pair of glasses said as he grabbed her wrist.

Lucy only sighed. "Do as you are told, Loke. You do not want me to start using _that_ , now do you?" she said in her most sweet voice while wearing her darkest expression ever. He yelped in fear and then quickly followed Virgo up to the stairs.

It was then that she noticed she was still holding the key to the beach house. She decided to put it away, but as she proceeded to walk towards the place where she kept her keys, she saw her wrist and her tattoo.

"What the hell..."

 **##**

"Finally, something normal!" Lucy happily exclaimed as she splatted water on Levy. The girls were in their bathing suits, enjoying the warm sun and the cold water. Levy had tied her blue locks up in a high ponytail and was trying her best to avoid the splatters of water that were coming her way.

"Lu-chan! Please, have mercy on me!" Lucy knew how Levy hated to get wet when the water was still cold, so she decided not to be too harsh on her. She was only splashing her a little bit with the water, after she had dived in first, of course. Lucy had braided her hear in a fish-tail one, so that loose strands of hair couldn't get out and annoy her.

Levy was wearing a cute green and yellow bikini with ruffles to emphasize her behind and cover up the parts she was lacking in the boob department. Currently, her bikini was still dry with not a single drop of water on it, and she'd like to keep it like that.

The sun was gazing over the gang of bubbly teenagers, who were laughing to their hearts content and had the best of time the have had in a long time.

Lucy and Levy just happened to be the only ones from their little party who were in the sea. Natsu ran off, yelling something about smelling food. Juvia had dragged Gray along to who knows where, and honestly, Lucy huped Gray would last. Although it also was funny.

Erza had walked out of the sea a bit earlier, saying something about how she wanted to relax in the sun a little bit before the hot-headed ones came back. Gajeel had settled down at the small bar at her beach that her servants ran and had not left the bar ever since, especially not after he found out they had a karaoke set. Lucy felt bad for her servants, but at the same time, she was happy for them. They could probably let loose a little bit now, and Virgo actually happened to love karaoke.

Levy, distracted by the sun and trying to tan a bit, was lost in her thoughts. She was happy with the way things were turning out for her and Gajeel, and she was also happy for Natsu and Lucy. Gray and Juvia, well.. Juvia probably needed to tone it down a little bit, but after that they'd be good. So no need to worry about that.

While thinking, she failed to notice Lucy swimming up to her. She noticed when Lucy had picked her up and pressed her close to her dripping wet body.

"Lu-chan! Put me down THIS INSTANT!" Her legs were kicking in the air, but it was in vain.

"Oh hell no, Levy-chan! It's payback time for telling my servants, for making me dance around the stage like a bunny AND for not telling me the story behind the Puffy Fish! Here we go!"

And with that, Lucy threw Levy in the water, who was instantly dripping wet, like Lucy was. The only difference was that Lucy had tears from laughter in her eyes, while Levy looked ready to commit a murder. She walked towards the beach and reached inside of her purse, still wearing that scary expression.

"KYAA! Levy! No! Not the fly swatter! NOT THE FLY SWATTER! I'll do anything! LORD! SAVE ME"

 **##**

Meanwhile, Erza was relaxing in the sun. She was wearing a black bikini and had tied her scarlet locks up in a pony tail. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to let the sun warm and even burn her delicate skin a little bit.

"Mmmmhmm, this truly does a person good," she said in contentment, stretching her arms a little above her head. Until she had accidentily hit something. Or someone, judging from the way it felt.

"I- Oh my, I am so sorry, are you alright?" Erza jumped up and looked at the person with true concern. The other person was a boy, maybe a year older than she was, with blue hair, a pale skin and a heavenly body. But his most defining feature was a red tattoo at the right side of his face.

And he was unbelievably _handsome_. Erza noticed herself starting to blush and she was still holding on to his wrist. She quickly let go of him and used that hand to ruffle through her hair a bit, before speaking up again.

"I hope I didn't scare you a lot. And if I did, I am very sorry. Please accept my humble apology." Erza bowed her head to the stranger.

To her surprise, he started chuckling.

"It's good to know you haven't changed at all, Erza," the boy said, still chuckling. He was wearing a pair of dark green swimming pants and a pair of flip-flops.

Erza raised her head, not believing her ears. It couldn't possibly be.. The boy she had met in the orphanage, the boy who had given every single person in there hope, the boy who she had spent her entire childhood crushing on, _that_ boy standing right in front of her and she did not even recognise him!

She could feel her cheeks heat up, as she slowly looked at his face. When she was met with his kind smile, she knew her answer. And she acted on it without thinking.

"Jellal!" She threw herself at him, arms around his neck and their bodies pressed together.

"It is so good to see you again! I have missed you so much! How was boarding school? I heard that you were brought to another orphanage, called Tower of Heaven, but afer that, I have no clue as to where you went. I have missed you so much!"

Erza once again hugged him tight, not caring about the way her body pressed against his. Although he might have known her his entire childhood, she had changed and he could not help some things. Especially not when his childhood friend grew up to be so extremely beautiful.

He coughed, before answering her. "It is true that I have been sent away to Tower of Heaven. But I prefer not to speak of it, it is not some period out of my life that I am proud of. You must have heard the stories about the Demon from the Tower of Heaven..."

He looked down to the ground as he explained to Erza what he had gone through there. For an outsider, this must have looked pretty ridiculous. A young girl in a black bikini and a young boy in green swimming pants and flipflops, wearing such serious looks on their faces.

After he was done, Erza hugged him tightly again.

"Why don't you come with me, Jellal? We at Magnolia have an excellent programm and would be honoured to have you at our university." She offered him a kind smile as he started to blush.

"B-but I have done so much wrong in my life. How can I expect anyone to accept me?" He looked back at the ground agsin, before Erza grabbed his head.

"Listen to me, Jellal. We believe in second chances. And you happen to have the luck that I am in the student council, so I have the authority to offer you a spot at Magnolia. Now, I will ask again. Will you come with me? And before you answer that, you should know that there are a bunch of crazy students around. For example, one who only eats tobasco sauce, another one who only eats popsicles, a girl with servants, a guy with more iron in his body than a fridge and an overemotional girl who calls every one 'Love Rival'. So, will you come with me?"

Erza smiled at him as she offered him her hand.

And he accepted.

"Great! Now let's go and get something to eat. I don't know about you, but I am starving, and I'd love to catch up with you a little!" Erza got up and dragged her childhood friend along.

Let's just pray Lucy didn't mind another person staying at her house.

 **##**

"Gray-sama, you really are good at this!" Juvia's face was flushed as Gray's fingers worked his magic.

He was fast, precise and knew exactly where to hit it and where not. Gray knew perfectly well what he was doing.

The couple was driven off to a more private part of the beach, where they were currently engaged in some activities that not everyone would approve off. Not that they cared. They were both old enough to decide what they wanted to do and what not. They didn't need people telling them that what they were doing was 'inappropriate' of that they should 'act their age'.

This was way too much fun.

"Gray-sama, almost! Just a little bit more to the right! Please, Gray-sama!" Juvia cried out, face even more flushed.

"Okay! I got this! Let me work my last piece of magic on this one!"

He moved his hand up a little bit and placed the shell at the entrance of their sand castle as Juvia gasped.

"It's beautiful, Gray-sama! Juvia thinks that the merpeople would love it! That is, if they would fit in here," Juvia muttered, while washing her hands clean from the sand in the sea.

Gray wiped his brow with his elbow, careful not to get any sand in his eyes.

"What do you say Juvia, do you think we could win the contest with this beauty?" He grinned at her, and in return she smiled at him.

"Juvia thinks we killed it!"

She high fived Gray, before deciding to finally take a dive. The water was nice and clear. It wasn't too hot, or too cold. Exactly how she loved it. Juvia had always loved the water and swimming, but she barely had time for any of them. It always made her sad a little, but she managed to push those sad feelings away. On her breaks, she could swim. And she could always have joined the swimming team at her old school, except that the pressure there was on even worse than it was at home.

She dived deeper, wanting to forget about her surroundings for a while. Just being one with the water for a while, before getting back up again. But not now. Juvia swam through the clear waters, being able to see some little fish and some seaweed. She shyly waved to the fish, who quickly swam away.

Juvia felt a little bit disappointed, but not for long. After all, they were fish. Just as she wanted to turn around to swim further- she could do a little longer before getting up again to breathe, after all she could hold her breath for nearly a minute and a half- the fish returned. It carefully swam towards her, wary of any sudden movements.

Juvia stayed still as a statue. And sure enough, the fish all came swimming towards her. It were little, colourful fish that were swimming all around her. Juvia giggled, and to her surprise the fish didn't swam away. They stayed with her, even as she swam back to the shore again. She had to get some air now, or else she would drown.

Besides, the judges for the sandcastle competition would show up soon and she wanted to be there with Gray.

Juvia poked her head out on the surface, gulping in some air before casually swimming back to their sand castle. She noticed Gray standing a bit lost, now that she was not around.

And it was true. Although Gray would never, ever, _ever_ admit it oud loud, he did like the girl. Of course he did, with the entire soulmate thing and all, but even with that, he liked her. It was just hard for him to say so.

But now that she wasn't around, he felt lost. She said that she would go for a swim, and that he should dtay with their sandcastle. After all, they wanted to win. The winner would be featured in a magazine and Gray could use the publicity. This would show that he not only could create sculpture's out of ice, but also out of sand. Although he had to credit Juvia for the concept.

Gray felt a bit ashamed. All he had done was dcorating it and sculpting the little towers. Juvia had made the entire base, all he had to do was finish it up. And yet, she was so excited about his work.

"Gray-sama!" Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, Juvia.. Did you have a nice swim?" he asked her, subconsciously scratshing his head.

"Oh yes, Juvia did. Juvia loves to swim, just like Gray-sama loves to work with ice. It is something she has been brought up with."

"How did you know I was brought up with sculpting ice?" His eyes nearly popped out of his head. This girl truly was something else. She had been with him for nearly four months now, not that they were a couple but still, and he had barely talked about his childhood. So how did she know?

In response, she only shrugged her shoulders. "Juvia just knew." She looked back to the sea. The soft breeze played with her hair and left it in a natural wavy style that could only be described as 'cute'.

"Oh, look! The judges are here Gray-sama! Let's go!"

Juvia ran towards the judges, quickly slipping on her white beach dress before starting ti talk to them happily.

Gray only shook his head a little, before laughing and following Juvia's footsteps. Let's see if they could win this bad boy.

 **##**

"I still can't believe you hit me with that fly swatter, Levy!"

The night had fallen and the gang of teens, including Jellal, who was acceped in their group after a short explanation from Erza, was sitting outside under the stars next to a bonfire. Gajeel had packed his guitar, but one glare from Levy made him think different and he had put the guitar on a standard for anyone to play on.

They were currently eating up the last bit of food that Lucy's servants had cooked for them and were discussing today's events.

"I still can't believe Juvia and I were disqualified from that competition," Gray sulked in his chair, a bitter expression on his face whenever he thought back about them not being allowed to compete because they were 'too old.' Well, Gray had read the rules several times and those rules had said nothing about an age limit! Those mean bastards were just jealous that he and Juvia could build such amazing sand castles.

Juvia patted his leg in a comforting way while telling him that she thought their castle had been the best. Of course.

Levy was curled up against Gajeel's side, head against his shoulder and her eyes were closed. She had had a perfect day, apart from Lucy throwing her into the water. Well, after that she went to the bar and had a lot of fun together with Gajeel. They had drank some drinks, sang some songs and bonded a little bit more. Their bond was not as strong as Natsu's and Lucy's, but those two were the densest idiots. Because yes, they had been gossiping a little bit about them. Natsu had been persistant on seeing Lucy every day during last year, so yeah, their bond was unbreakable. But still, Gajeel and Levy were becoming closer by the second.

Erza was sitting next to Jellal, a small smile on her face as she saw his tattoo. Not the red one, no, but the soulmate indicators. His was placed on his bicep, just like Erza's. A sword glowing in a golden light. Now that she had this piece of information, Erza could allow herself to completely fall in love with him again.

Lucy stood up and walked towards Gajeel's guitar.

"Gajeel, may I?" she asked, unsure of how he would react.

"Be my guest, Bunny Girl," he said, careful not to startle Levy.

"Okay.. Well, guys... I'd like to sing a song to you all.. It is a song that describes how I used to feel.. Before I met all of you. So I hope you will -literally- hear me out.. Well.. That's it.."

She strummed the guitar a little, before playing the opening chords and starting to sing.

" _Hello, hello anybody out there? 'Cause I don't hear a sound._  
 _Alone, alone I don't really know where the world is, but I miss it now._

 _I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name like a fool at the top of my lungs._  
 _Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm all right but it's never enough._

 _'Cause my echo, echo is the only voice coming back._  
 _My shadow, shadow is the only friend that I have._

 _Listen, listen I will take a whisper if that's all you had to give._  
 _But it isn't, isn't you could come and save me and try to chase the crazy right out of my head._

 _I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name like a fool at the top of my lungs._  
 _Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm all right but it's never enough._

 _'Cause my echo, echo is the only voice coming back._  
 _My shadow, shadow is the only friend that I have._

 _I don't wanna be an island and I just wanna feel alive and get to see your face again._  
 _I don't wanna be an island and I just wanna feel alive and get to see your face again._

 _Just my echo, Oh, my shadow, you're my only friend._

 _And I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name like a fool at the top of my lungs._  
 _Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm all right but it's never enough_

 _'Cause my echo, echo._  
 _Oh my shadow, shadow._

 _Hello, hello anybody out there..._ "

As she played the last chord, she opened her eyes again, to see Natsu standing right in front of her. He took the guitar from her, carefully putting it away before grabbing her in a hug that lasted forever.

Juvia started openly crying during the song. Erza had teared up a little, Levy had a tear streaming down her face and even Gajeel had tears forming in his eyes.

But at the same time, Gray was holding Juvia close to comfort her. Jellal was holding Erza's hand, and Gajeel and Levy were in an embrace.

Natsu gazed at Lucy. "Your shadow is no more your only friend Luce. Remember that."

He kissed her softly on her forehead as the fireworks exploded above their heads, celebrating their newly found love and friendship.

 **A/N**

 **I am madly in love with the ending. Excuse me while I am a lovesick pile of a crappy writer.**

 **I'm sorry this chapter was a bit boring at the beginning, it was really filler-ish. Sorry!**

 **The end is pretty important though, but well..**

 **The song I used here is 'Echo' from Jason Walker. And it is so pretty. I swear t God I cry every time I hear it. So listen to it please, it truly is an amazing song.**

 **Also, for those of you wondering about my face, I have an Instagram account!**

 **Username is the same as here xD I like it. And I need a kawaii senpai.**

 **Okay, lemme know what you thought of this chapter!**

 **Bye bye ~**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**

 **I'm back! Sort of.**

 **Anyway, I would like to thank every single one of you who has reviewed. Really guys, you all brought tears to my eyes. You all really are the best readers I could ever ask for and I am super glad I can count on your support. All of your kind words really made me cry(and I barely cry, just so you know), so that really is something big.**

 **I won't be updating very regularly, but know that I am back and will try to update at least once every week! No promises though. Anyway, thanks for sticking with a crappy senpai. But I do have the best kouhai's ever so I am super happy. Yes, you are all my kouhai. Be glad, I'm pretty handsome. Huehuehue.**

 **Okay, I know this chapter is super super super short and boring and crappy but I really wanted to write the following up as a loose chapter and not an extra part.**

The sun was slowly rising high in the sky, shedding her light on the group of teenagers that had fallen asleep at the bonfire last night. In the light you could see some empty soda cans, some half-eaten snacks and some fries spread around the floor. Every single on of them was fast asleep.

After the fireworks show, the gang decided to stay outside and talk a little bit, just have some fun. Gajeel had tried to sing a song after Lucy had sang hers. The results were the same, nearly everyone was crying. But they were crying because his voice sounded like a dying peacock strapped on a chalkboard and were scratching his nails all over the board. That would make everyone cry.

Only Levy had remained supportive of her soulmate, patting his knee and saying she would stop calling him Puffy Fish if it made him feel better. At that, he grumbled before attacking her sides again with his tickling fingers and saying she sounded just like a shrimp.

Gray decided to give up on them altogether and sneaked off with Juvia to build another sandcastle. After they had built the -in their opinion- best sandcastle ever made by human hands, they sneaked back, took a quick shower and then fall asleep. Gray and Juvia were cuddled up on the couch, Juvia's hand in Gray's.

Erza and Jellal were also sound asleep on a couch. After they had catched up on the beach, the two teens realized they were made for each other, but were a little scared to admit, even though their tattoos were identical. They stayed up late talking about little things, like their favourite desserts and what the meaning was behind their phone charms. After that, Erza had fallen asleep with her head on Jellal's shoulder. Jellal was holding her in a protective manner, and fell asleep to the sound of her heartbeat.

Natsu was snoring on a couch he had occupied on his own. He and Lucy had been cuddling after her song, crying when Gajeel sang, giggled when Gray and Juvia ran off and Lucy had a loving smile when she heard Erza and Jellal catching up some more. After a huge yawn, she too had fallen asleep in Natsu's arms, only to be kicked off the couch a couple of hours later.

Now she was sleeping in a chair, warming up by the soft sunlight that made her golden locks shine and sparkle. Slowly she opened her eyes, and a yawn followed.

"Ooooh.. Man, I should have known Natsu would kick me.. Why did I even try?" She then giggled a bit, before looking at her snoring, salmon-haired soulmate. He looked really cute like that, sound asleep. A smile crept it's way up to Lucy's mouth. He really was something else, that Natsu.

Stretching a little and letting out some moans of contentment, she then decided to get up and take a shower. Her smile grew even wider when she saw Gray and Juvia sitting together, not too close but still close enough to cuddle a little bit. Gray's hand was still intertwined with Juvia's, but it looked like he insisted on holding hands. Lucy shook her head. Gray always denied his feelings, but when it mattered, he truly cared.

Slowly stepping over the soda cans, she made her way up to the kitchen. In the opening of the door, she turned around. Everyone just looked so cute when they were asleep. Even that rough guy, Gajeel, was all cuddled up with Levy.

"A nice sight, isn't it, Princess?" A manly voice joined her so-far one-sided conversation. Lucy turned around and saw that it was Leo, or Loke. Didn't matter to him how you called him, he'd listen to both.

"Yes," Lucy sighed happily, "it sure is nice."

Leo stepped over the doorstep and stood behind Lucy, hugging her from behind.

"Who would have guessed that this would happen, Nee-san?" he said, putting extra effort in the 'Nee-san' department.

Laughing, she pushed him away. "Nee-san, boy oh boy. Where did I go wrong? With such a worthless little brother? I think I might go and cry now!" Lucy turned around so she could look into his eyes. "But yes, I never guessed this could happen, _onii-chan_." She giggled a bit, before hugging him.

"If only Jude knew..." Leo softly said, stroking her hair in a comforting matter. He knew all about Lucy's hardships with her father, but he wasn't surprised she hadn't told everyone here yet. He only knew because he practically grew up with the girl, so he was there when everything happened.

He was there when Layla died, when his little Lucy broke down from sadness and disaster. He was there when Jude turned cold, caring only about money. He was there, every time that Jude... Leo shook his head. He was not going there, not today. But Leo also was there when Jude kicked out his only daughter, with a credit card and a note saying it was time she went into the real world. Lucy was only 16 at the time, but she did grow from the experience.

It made her toughen up, made her learn hor to take care of herself. Although Jude was definitely not the best father, unknowingly he taught her the most important lesson of all.

Don't trust people who you love but don't love you back.

It saved her from a lot of trouble, and to be honest, Leo was happy.

"Luuuuccyyyyyyyyyyy~" came a whiny voice, that probably belonged to Natsu. "I'm hungryyyyyyyyyyyy!"

Leo and Lucy looked at each other, before erupting in giggles.

"I'd better go," she giggled. "He's very grumpy in the morning when he doesn't get the right amount of food. And you, you'd better help. Chop chop!" She smacked his ass, before laughing and running towards Natsu.

"I'm already working on breakfast, Natsu! So don't worry abou- WHY ARE YOU EATING THOSE FRIES? THEY HAVE BEEN LYING ON THE FLOOR THE ENTIRE NIGHT! NATSU DRAGNEEL, ONE DAY YOU ARE GOING TO DIE OF FOOD POISINING!"

"Hey! I was hungry and these looked okay! So I ate some and- Luce.. What are you doing? NO NO NO! DON'T DO THAT! I HATE THAT THING! I HATE YOU LUCY!"

A very familiar fly swatter swung through the air and hit him full force in the face.

 **##**

"So, what are we going to do today?"

Everyone had gathered around the table, smelling the delicious smell of bacon and eggs in the morning. That was enough to wake everyone up. Levy was currently dressed in a yellow tank top and brown shorts, Erza was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a white blouse, Juvia was wearing a white summer dress and Lucy was in one of Natsu's old shirts. This one had a dragon imprinted on it.

At least it wasn't _weirdo_ , Lucy internally sighed, before returning to listening to the topic being discussed.

"I think we should go shopping," Erza said sternly, making the boys cringe a little. What Erza wanted, happened. No one had yet dared to stand up against her, so today probably would be shopping. The boys, except Jellal, who was still eating his cereal, made painful expressions. They had all been shopping with Erza once before, and let's say it was a painful experience.

At Erza's words, Lucy blushed, remembering the kind of stores Erza went shopping. She was about to protest when Gajeel interrupted her. "Rude," she muttered.

"Sounds like a plan! I wanna see if this town has a piercing shop. Plus I wanna check a music store, after a certain _Shrimp_ ," he glared at Levy, who looked back with big, innocent doe eyes, "made my cat attack my guitar I gotta buy some new strings."

"Levy-san? Did you truly send Pantherlily to attack Gajeel-kun's guitar? Juvia is very surprised, but then again she is not that surprised. After all, Levy-san still has Gajeel-kun's barfing face in her tattoo so maybe that was payback from God. Then again, how does Levy-san even know about Lily? Juvia has not once seen him, since Gajeel-kun says he is very shy. So Levy-san might have some magical powers. Juvia has seen a picture of Lily, but she still is surprised," Juvia talked to herself, until Levy slapped her hand over Juvia's mouth.

"Shopping sounds like fun!" she happily exclaimed, praying Juvia would shut up now about Gajeel, her and Lily. That was a bit weird.

"I also like the idea of shopping," Jellal suddenly joined in. Everyone turned around in surprise, mouths wide open. Jellal spoke out loud, to everyone. Before that, they had only heard Erza do the explaining and then his soft mumbling.

"What?" He shrugged. "It's fun. Looking for some stuff, making memories, taking pictures. You don't have to buy things, you can just have fun. Why not take the chance while we're still here?"

"Jellal... Has Erza not told you?" Lucy said then. Judging from his confused expression, Erza didn't. She sighed. Let's do the explaining again.

"You see, this is a beach house owned by my family. And since I am the only one with a key," she suddenly remembered her tattoo and looked at her wrist, which was unchanged, "we can stay here the entire summer if we'd like to. Also, I have Virgo, Leo and Taurus here so we don't have to worry about cleaning up," she said, not caring about Leo's protest that sounded like "That is so not fair!" before he was shut up by Virgo saying "Shut it! Cleaning is the punishment Princess has given us!"

"So, we have basically five weeks left. But maybe shopping sounds like a good idea.. I mean, no one has been here in a very long time, so we'd probably have to buy some groceries.. Not to mention a new washing machine, the old one broke down I think... And maybe a new TV, this one has some issues... Should I call someone and ask if they can build us a pool?" Lucy wondered to herself, until she noticed everyone was watching her.

"Wow.. Are you really _that_ rich, Lu-chan?" Levy asked, big eyes while everyone else nodded.

"Eeeeh... Well... Actually.. You see, since this house bears the Heartfilia name, I can do whatever I want and put it on the Heartfilia bill and file it under 'necessary renovations' which means Jude will pay them automatically. And even if he noticed, I don't care. He knows I have the key."

"Wow..." everyone awed in amazement. Sure, they knew that being a Heartfilia, or any rich person for that matter, had a lot of money, but this was on a whole new level. Being able to build a pool here? Damn.

"But Lu-chan, why would we want a pool here when the beach is super close?" Levy suddenly asked.

"Well... Because the beach can get super crowded, and a pool would be for only us. But if you guys think it's a bad idea, then I can ust cancel it. No big deal," Lucy said.

"You already started the project? Damn, Bunny Girl sure knows what to do," Gajeel laughed.

"Actually, I didn't. Just wanted to have some fun. Anyway, I thought we all agreed on going shopping today?" she asked her group of friends, looking at them all.

Natsu was the first to answer.

"Of course! I can buy some more tobasco sauce now! And you can't stop me forever Luce!"

He poked his tongue at her. Her only response was to say; "Levy. Attack."

"OUCH LEVY! NOT THE DAMNED FLY SWATTER AGAIN! GO TORTURE GAJEEL!"

 **A/N**

 **Again, sorry for the shirt and crappy chappie. Oh well. Next chapter will be the shopping chapter, abd i am already looking forward to writing that. So I hope you do too.**

 **Also, we just hit 30k+ words. Who's gonna celebrate this with me? Because I sure as hell am going to celebrate. I'm a proud senpai now.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading, don't forget to follow, favourite and if you have time, review!**

 **Once again, thanks for sticking with me and thank you for all of your support ❤**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**

 **Okay.. I really have no excuse other than that I'm just really, really, _really_ lazy.**

 **And I sorta forgot about this one too. Sorry dears.**

 **Anyway, I noticed that we've hit over 100 followers! That is insane! Like, really?**

 **I've never written something that has gotten so popular!**

 **So I'd like to thank you all for your continious support and loving. The reviews.. man I love them. They really brighten my day when I read them, so a HUGE thank you to everyone who has written me a review!**

 **Anyway, onwards! Hope you guys enjoy!**

"Uuuhm.. Erza.. Are you sure we are allowed to go in here?"

Lucy was sweating nervously, blinking rapidly and praying she didn't have to go inside. The name of the shop was flashing in neon lights, trying to attract customers. Lucy hadn't seen this shop on Erza's bags, and who knew.. The good, great and amazing Erza, shopping _here_.

Next to her was Levy, who was also looking a bit nervous and staring at the sign. She and Lucy exhanged looks, before sending up their prayer. Let's hope they wouldn't meet any of their classmates here, and anyone else they knew.

"It's alright girls. I happen to know the owner of this shop," Erza said with a gentle smile. 'But _how_ ,' Lucy thought. And then a shiver went down her spine. If Erza knew the shop owner, then she must have been here once before. Which would mean Erza was no stranger, and Lucy's tour was mostly useless. Oh boy, she had wasted Erza's time. Now she was so going to get a beating. Praying again.

Levy already knew, Juvia was definitely not interested- she kept yelling that "Love Rival wants to distract Juvia from her beloved Gray-sama, so that she can later on seduce him!" and more stuff like that. Lucy hoped Erza was interested, but now... Lucy wanted to crash her head against something. Great going.

"Juvia also thinks Love Rival needs to suck it up. Juvia would love to see what kind of things this shop is selling, maybe with a new outfit she can seduce Gray-sama into making 37 babies with her!" Juvia trailed off, hearts in her eyes and a bit of drool.

Once again, Lucy and Levy exchanged looks, before taking a deep breath and walking inside, trying not to get traumatized.

The room was poorly lit, only one lamp that wasn't shining very bright. Not that it mattered. The flashy sign outside would say enough... How Erza and Juvia could think that this was just any ordinary shop where they could buy clothes was beyond Lucy. Erza immediately walked to the back, to the clothes section.

Juvia was looking at the display pictures, wondering if Gray would like some of the outfits. She was wondering how she would look in them, and then imagined Gray's reaction.

 _"Wow, Juvia.. You sure as hell look good in those clothes," Gray-sama would say, with his sexy, husky voice. Juvia would only giggle, accepting his compliment and offering him her hand._

 _He would kiss it, and then look up to her face._

 _"Juvia," he would say, "I have been so super blind. You are the most beautiful girl that I have ever laid eyes on. Lucy was a total mistake, I never was interested in her. I only flirted with her to get your attention."_

"HEY!" Lucy yelled out, very annoyed.

 _"Juvia, I.. I like you very much." Oh, his sexy, husky voice. Juvia couldn't take much more. In his eyes she could see a burning passion, a flame that she had started. Oh how she would love to fulfill his desires! But she had to remain calm, or else Gray-sama would leave her._

 _"Gray-sama," she would then say, speaking for the first time. "Juvia also likes Gray-sama very much, and she is very happy you have chosen her. She will do everything in her power to make sure you stay with her." That was what Juvia tell him. Oh, her dearly beloved Gray-sama. She never knew he would go that far to prove his love for her. He truly was considerate of her feelings. Juvia could feel the hearts in her eyes starting to form._

 _Gray-sama would smile, his very seductive smile, before leaning in towards her. His cool breath on her flustered face. He would whisper something in her ear, before kissi-"_

"Juvia? Hello? Juvia! JUVIA!" A hand waving in front her face. Juvia blinked a couple of times, before recognizing Levy's face. Levy studied Juvia's face with a worried expression on her face.

"Thank God, you're okay. You had a very weird look on your face, I was worried you might no come back to us. Anyway, Erza's grabbed some clothes, and she wants us to be the judges."

Seeing Juvia's frightened and annoyed face, she giggled. "Don't worry about Lucy, Erza made her join the dressing room. So Lucy is going to get dressed up too. Let's take pictures, 'kay?" Levy winked at Juvia, before grabbing her arm and running off to the back with her.

Juvia couldn't help but smile at the other girl's enthusiasm, so she allowed Levy to drag her along, continiung her daydream. A small drop of drool started to form in the corner in her mouth. Levy giggled.

 **##**

"Man, I wonder what the girls are doing right now," Gajeel said, walking into a tattoo and piercing shop. The other boys slowly followed him inside, hesitant about the whole idea. They all though Gajeel was kidding when he said he wanted to find a piercing store. Well, turns out they were wrong. Gajeel very much wanted to find a piercing store, although they didn't know why.

His face was already loaded with piercings, why would he want some more? Moreover, did he even have some space left for another piercing? Where would they place this piercing? Would it be his nipples? That was definitely one scene the boys all could miss. They were all hoping it wouldn't be his nipples. Maybe some more in his arms? Maybe his legs? Maybe even his dingdon- _no way in hell_.

"Uuuh.. Gajeel.. What exactly are we doing here?" Gray asked, loosening the buttons on his dress shirt while looking around. Everywhere you could look were pictures of people with tattoos. Some of the tattoos were works of art, but maybe it would be hard to find your soulmate with all those tattoos. After the pictures, there were also a lot of examples of pierced people.

Grays arm casually rested on a bar, together with a huge rubber ear with piercings everywhere.

"Hey! Gray!" Natsu yelled out, holding up a pierced dingdong.

"Maybe you should ask if you can borrow this one! Maybe then Juvia will finally be impressed with you!"

Gray nearly choked on his spit, and started coughing like a mad man. What the?

"Natsu.." Gray growled at the salmon-haired boy, who was currently pissing his pants with laughter. Jellal only shook his head, and then stepped inside, looking for the available worker around.

"Natsu! Maybe you should use this one!" Gray yelled, throwing the ear at him.

"Maybe then you can remember what Lucy's telling you," he added with a sly smirk.

"Oh no you didn't, Popsicle!" Natsu yelled back, thowing the pierced penis at him. It hit him full force in the face, before it fell to the floor.

"So uuuh.. Shouldn't we stop them, Gajeel?" Jellal asked Gajeel, who had gotten out his cellphone and was currently recording the whole deal.

"Nah, why should we? This way it's way more fun, 'sides, I wanna see the look on Juvia's face when she realises Gray has been hit in the face wuth a fake penis," Gajeel answered, before yelling at Natsu.

"OI! Flame girl! Are ya gonna let that Ice Princess get the best of you?"

Jellal only shook his head again, before finding the shop owner.

"You run this place?" he asked a heavily pierced and inked man, who was currently rolling a cigarette.

"Yeah, I do run this circus. Why? Ya thinking about about getting a piercing, little kid?" he asked Jellal, then licking the rolling paper with a pierced tongue, before lighting it.

"Aaah, I needed this nicotine. Now, lemme deal with those two idiots over there fighting with my examples."

The man got up, taking another long drag of his cigarette, before walking over to Natsu and Gray who were still fighting with the fake penis and ears.

"Tell that again, Ice Princess!" Natsu yelled, hitting him with the ears.

"I said that you were obviously gay, as you love getting hit with this!" Gray yelled back, hitting Natsu's ass with the rubber thing and faking Natsu's voice; "Oh! Gray-sama! Please, smack my ass some more!" while batting his eye-lashes in a girlie way.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" A deep laugh rolled through the store. Everyone turned around, Natsu and Gray dropping the rubber replacements on the ground.

A very muscled man, covered in piercings and tattoos, rolling on the floor with laughter while holding a cigarette.

Gajeel was still recording, a sly smirk on his face as he turned his phone back to Natsu and Gray, both with dumbstruck expressions on their faces.

"Yo, Lev's, as ya can see ya should be totally glad I am yer soulmate, 'cause these two are total idiots!" He then grinned, before ending his recording.

"OI! Metal Idiot! You've been recording this?" Gray and Natsu then yelled out, in perfect sync.

"WHo d'ya think yer callin' an idiot, Princess?" Gajeel yelled back, before hitting both of them.

Jellal only sighed. By the looks of it, today was going to be a very long day.

 **##**

"Erza! I don't wanna come out!" Lucy whined, while pulling at her skirt that was still creeping up. She was currently wearing a witch costume, complete with a witch hat, and broomstick. The rest of her outfit consisted of a black overbuste corset, a poofy, tule skirt which was very short and kept creeping up, a pair of black stockings and very, _very_ hgh heels.

Erza was dressed in similar clothes, except that her outfit was a deep purple. Erza didn't look troubled at all by the nakedness of her outfit, the opposite. She looked very happy and proud of herself in the outfit, twisting and turning and letting out some "Hmm!"s, and "Yosh!"s, which made Lucy scared.

"Juvia! Levy! Are you girls ready for us?" Erza asked with her stern voice, dripping with both authority and confidence.

Lucy on the other hand looked as if she was going to be sick at any given moment.

"Erza, do I really have to?" she asked the redhead, unsure of herself.

"Now Lucy, there is absolutely no shame in showing your body. You have a beautiful body, well defined and you should be proud of your looks. And as a dear friend of mine always used to say, 'If you got it, flaunt it' and I truly live by that standard." Erza flipped her long scarlet hair over to the other shoulder, before looking at Lucy again.

Lucy muttered something like; "But then why are you always so embarrassed with changing in front of people at times?" and "Hell, this is going to be the death of me."

Erza could only smile at that statement. It was true, Erza could get very shy and self-conscious about her body, but that was only because she felt like her body was out of proportion at times. She had always thought that her boobs were too big, her waist too tiny, her bum too big and let's not mention the colour of her hair. It always made her stand out.

"We're waiting here! Juvia could be with her beloved now, so Love Rival better hurries up!" Juvia yelled out.

"You heard the fans," Erza smiled, before throwing the changing curtain away, revealing themselves.

Lucy just wished she could die of embarrassment now. Levy was sitting front row, a very excited expression on her face and a camera in her hand.

"Oh no Levy, you are not taking any pictures!" Lucy yelled out, taking the camera.

"You can only take a selfie with us," she then added, smiling. Erza nodded in approvement.

Juvia could only stare at Lucy. Lucy looked absolutely stunning, and it looked like she avoided the picture being taken for two reasons.

The first reason being obvious, even Juvia could see. Juvia could totally inderstand, too. Juvia would probably die from embarrassment too, if there were pictures taken of her in such an outfit. She meant, having to wear it was probably pretty embarrassing, but pictures taken of her in the outfit, not to mention that the boys would probably see it too, that would be too much.

The second reason was much less obvious, and Juvia had nearly missed it, had it not been for Lucy's smile at Juvia when she said she didn't want a full body picture. Could it be that Love Rival actually understood Juvia? That she could see Juvia was insecure and that she didn't want Gray to see the picture of Lucy in her witch outfit? Juvia made a mental note to thank the girl later. Maybe she wasn't all bad.

"Selfie! Places people, places!" Levy said, imitating a voice of a director while holding up her phone and opening Snapchat.

"Ready girls?" she asked them, and everyone nodded.

"Three.. Two.. One.. Smile!" Levy said, then smiling and taking the picture.

She absolutely loved it. Erza looked extremely sexy, yet kind with a gentle smile on her face in the back of the picture. Next to her was Juvia, who had a shy smile but still looked happy. Then Lucy, who looked very cute with her witch hat on her head and her arms around Juvia and Levy. And finally Levy, with a huge grin on her face. She saved the picture to her gallery, before snapping it to her story.

"So Lucy, ready for round two?"

"SOMEONE SHOOT ME RIGHT NOW!"

"I'll take that as a yes. Let's go!"

 **##**

"So, lil' kid, whaddaya want?" Jeff asked Natsu.

It turned out that the guy was very nice, and actually a huge teddybear. His heart nearly melted when Gajeel told him all about PantherLily, and then decided to pierce anyone of their little group for free, if they wanted. Of course, Gajeel had asked that if one of their friends didn't want it, if he could use their piercings.

Jeff only laughed at this, saying that as long as his requests weren't too bizarre, he was completely cool with it.

Of course, Gajeel then immediately sat down and asked for a piercing in between his eyebrows, a tongue piercing and a septum piercing. Only Natsu had said that he also wanted to get pierced, at which Gajeel had laughed to his heart's contest.

"You? Getting pierced?" He had tears in his eyes of laughter at the idea only. Imagine Lucy's reaction, he thought.

"I was thinking about something not too much.. Nor too painful.. Maybe a helix?" Natsu suggested. A helix was basically an earring, but then very high up in your ear. Jeff now laughed along with Gajeel at Natsu's face.

"I ain't sugar coating it for ya kiddo. That is one of the most painful ones, expecially when ya wanna sleep. It's in your ear, so you can't lay down at that ear. Most people do, and the cry 'cause when they wanna turn it hurts too much. So kiddo, I don't know about the less painful part, but I gotta say, it is a subtle piercing. So why not just go for it?"

At that, Gajeel had shut up again, especially after Natsu had nodded and said that he still wanted the helix. Well, it wasn't like he hadn't seen weirder things.

The piercer ignored Gajeel's ugly face and went back to Natsu, explaining what exactly he was going to do as this was Natsu's first piercing.

Jellal and Gray both looked at each other with painful expressions on their faces, both mouthing things to each other.

 _Imagine Lucy's reaction,_ Jellal mouthed to Gray

Gray grinned, before mouthing back _I can't wait to see him whimper in pain_.

To that, Jellal only shook his head. To think Gray could be this cruel.

"Okay kiddo, you see this needle? This is the one I'll push through your ear. You can choose which piercing you want to use as a starter though, We have the usual little ring, but we also have some new starters in some cool shapes. Just check 'em out and tell me which one you'd like," Jeff said before preparing the rest for piercing the teen.

Natsu walked over to the sample box. One of them immediately stood out. He slowly took it out of the sample box, before walking back to Jeff.

"This one," he said, holding out his.

Jeff grinned.

"I knew you had taste, kiddo! Now sit, I'll pierce you and then I'll explain to you how to take care of it, and then you're free to go! And please, do not ruin my samples again. It took me a lot of money to get that rubber penis, you know," he said, winking.

Natsu grinned back.

And indeed, fifteen minutes later, the boys walked out of the piercing store with Jeff, who wanted to smoke another cigarette.

"I got to give it to you, you guys sure know how to brighten up my day," he grinned at them, and they all smiled back sheepishly.

"So kiddo, how does your ear feel?" he asked Natsu, who was proudly wearing the tiny dragon in his ear.

"Good. It doesn't hurt actually, just feels a bit weird. But other than that, it's good!" Natsu said, grinning to Jeff before hugging him.

"Thanks."

Jeff looked a bit awkward, but then hugged the boy back.

"You're welcome kiddo. And if it starts to hurt, please come back! I know you're here all summer, these idiots here told me," he said, using his thumb to point at Gajeel and Gray, who yelled out "HEY!" in protest.

"Now, off you go! Have fun you little kids!"

He shooed them away, before waving at them once again and then turning back into the shop once again.

"Well Natsu, I'll just pretend to Lucy I didn't see the tears in your eyes," Gajeel joked.

Jellal only sighed, Gray started laughing and Natsu punched him in the face.

"IDIOT! I just got that pierced! Get here, you son of a-!"

"Try to catch me," Natsu said smirking, before running off with a huge smile.

"FLAME BRAIN! GET YOUR DIRTY LITTLE RUBBER PENIS LOVING ASS BACK HERE!" Gajeel yelled, before chasing after Natsu.

Gray and Jellal sighed, looked at each other, nodded and started running too.

"Don't have all the fun without me, Gajeel!" Gray yelled.

 **A/N**

 **I am not going to lie, I laughed my ass off while writing this. I really cannot choose a favourite part because I just loved everything about it.**

 **And yes, I know a thing or two about piercings and tattoos. I have four piercings and a tattoo. I have my nose pierced, my earlobes and I have a helix. Also, no kidding, a helix hurts, according to my best friend. I mean, after we got them(we got them together and my piercer was this bald guy with a huge beard, shit ton of piercings and tattoos and I got pierced in this basement while heavy metal was playing and I was still innocent back then) she told me that when she cleaned hers, she passed out because of the pain.**

 **And I had no pain at all.**

 **Mwuhahahaha.**

 **Also, this is my very first story that has reached 30k+ words! Are you going to celebrate with me?**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, don't forget to follow, favourite and if you have time, leave me a review. Reviews really inspire me to keep writing, so keep 'em coming!**

 **And yes, there will be a Virtual Flames reference somewhere in the next chapters. Let's see who can catch 'em.**

 **Bye bye!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**

 **Wow.. I am kinda ashamed for how long it took me to update this one. Sorry guys.**

 **Also, I want to thank everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed my story! I read a review from ayesir-theflyingcat about chapter 8, where made you all believe there was Gruvia action going on. *winks***

 **So, be honest, how many of you thought there was some sexy time between the two of them? Huh? Huh? HUH?! TELL ME! I DEMAND REVIEWS. Nah, jk.**

 **I also have something serious to say. Maybe you recall, a few chapters ago when I mentioned the lesson Jude taught Lucy.**

 **Never trust someone you love but doesn't love you back.**

 **Seriously guys, don't. Don't do that, because you will end up hurt. Extremely hurt. And that is no fun at all. I've been there, and it FUCKING sucks. So don't. Learn from my mistakes.**

 **For my Dutch followers, I have two things.**

 **First, TODAY IS SINTERKLAAS! YEEESSSSS!(Non-Dutchies: it's sorta like Santa Claus, but cooler. Imo at least). Did you guys celebrate it?**

 **Second, nearly three weeks ago Nishicon happened. AND I WAS THERE YES! I was there on the Saturday, first as a Maid Erza with my Fairy Tail group, and after that I changed into my Bellatrix Lestrange cosplay. Were any of you guys there? Please PM me if you were there!**

 **Last thingy, I'm gonna promote my Facebook cosplay page. MWUHAHAHAHA.**

 **It's called Aurelia Cosplay, and there you can find cosplay pics, some videos of me signing(did I tell you already? I'm obsessed with singing and music) and sometimes my own personal profile is tagged in pictures. So you can Facebook stalk me. XD**

 **And yes, I am fucking tired right now so I did not check it for any mistakes. Sorry not sorry.**

"Hang on Natsu.. You really got your ear pierced?" Lucy asked him, eyes wide. She thought it was all a joke the guys had made up, and when he showed it to her she thought it was just a fake piercing.

He grinned, "Yup!" and proudly showed her the tiny dragon that was now lingering around in his ear. Around the piercing, his skin was a little bit swollen, and very red. Lucy's face twisted as she imagined the pain he went through to get it pierced. Even the imagination was enough to make her feel it. A chill went all the way up her body.

"Wow.." she whispered, admiring his courage. She could never do that. Not only because she was afraid of the pain, but also because she was afraid of what her father would say if she actually did pierce anything in her body.

After she ran away, she did get her earlobes pierced. However, the pain was really bad for her. Back then, she was not really used to anything, so getting them pierced hurt her a lot. But it was worth it, at least for her. A cute little heart would dangle with every stap she took, but that was the most rebellious thing she would ever dare to do. And even now, when she went to visit her dad, she would take them out and replace them with a pair of diamond ones, so that he wouldn't have a lot to complain about.

After all, earrings were fashionable, if you wear them correctly.

Natsu looked at the face of his soulmate. She somehow looked so.. so incredibly _sad_. He hated to see her sad. He finally got to know her, the happy, funny and bubbly Lucy Heartfilia. He liked her for that. She was honest, but would do her best not to hurt anyone. Unless it was him. She still hadn't told him how exactly she had learned that kick of hers. At least he knew that she didn't take any secret lessons from Erza. She had told him the story of how the two of them met, so lessons from the she-devil were out of the question.

But the Lucy he got to know and grew to care for was rarely sad. She was always smiling, trying to cheer him up when he was feeling down, or when he was suffering from motion sickness. She would allow him to lay his head in her lap, and she would stroke her fingers absently through his hair, making him feel like he was finally home after a long day.

She would always call him after college, asking him to grab coffee(although the regulars at Fairy Tail still laughed at him for the eye liner incident), and she would buy him his favourite.

He liked how her hair shined brighter than the sun itself in the right light. He liked how her eyes lightened up when she bought herself a new novel. He liked the way her hair drifted through the air when she was running. He liked how her chocolate orbs would soften when she looked at him. He liked how she would laugh with him. He liked her bubbly laugh. He liked how she would still throw coffee over herself.

Realisation shot through him.

 _I'm in love with her. I love every single thing about her. Fuck me sidewards. I'm dead. Bye world, nice knowing you._

Natsu Dragneel was in madly, head over heels in love with Lucy Heartfilia. And he had absolutely no clue on how to act on it. He gulped. The whole idea of being in love, it scared him. Love made you vulnerable. He had experienced it firsthand, when Igneel had left him. Although maybe that was a different kind of love.. After all, he and Lucy were soulmates.

He looked at the tattoo on his bicep, which was still the same as ever. A key, surrounded by flames. Although the key _did_ look a little bit strange..

"Hey, Luce?" he asked her, softly touching the curve of her elbow.

"Hm?" she hummed in response, ignoring the shiver that went up her spine as he touched her.

"Does the key look any different to you?" Natsu said, trying to stop the electricity that shot through him as he felt how soft her skin really was.

Oh boy, did he notice just _now_? The key had been different ever since she touched the key to the beach house. That was the hurting of the tattoo, the changing of it.

The essence of it still was the same, but the key itself had changed.

Lucy had immediately recognised it, but she didn't really gave it too much thought. They all had way too much fun at the beach for it to really be an issue.

After the whole trying on clothes thing, the girls decided to all buy an outfit for Halloween. Lucy went with the witch costume she tried on, after she had found a skirt that.. covered her ass a little bit more. Erza decided to buy a maid costume that even gave the girls a nosebleed. Juvia was really shy about showing the girls her costume, saying how "Lucy-san looked so pretty and Juvia is now scared that Gray-sama will leave her". But after some convincing at Lucy's part, Juvia finally came out of the changing booth. The porcelain doll costume was just perfect for Juvia, she looked so pretty in it. Levy had some issued with finding one in her sizee that wasn't from a kids' department( _why_ there was a kids department in such a shop was beyond Lucy), but eventually, she found one. And she looked incredibly _cute_ as an angel.

The rest of their holiday had passed in a blur. Juvia and Gray had snuck off several times again, building some more sand castles. At least, that was what Gray said, but Juvia's flushed face suggested some.. other things.

Gajeel had actually managed to hold a tune with his guitar, although his voice still sounded like a dying peacock strapped to a cat scratching it's nails on a chalkboard. At least he tried. Levy had used her feared weapon, also known as the fly swatter, only several times. The raster that was imprinted started to disappear more and more every day.

Erza and Jellal catched up a lot, talking together a lot and taking long walks at the beach, watching the setting and rising sun while holding hands and sending each other gentle and loving smiles.

And Lucy and Natsu.. well.. Lucy was busy with making sure no one got food poisining. Out of all the possible servants that could've arrived, it had to be the ones that couldn't cook for shit. And she also had to stop Natsu from putting his tobaso sauce in every dish, and preventing Gray from putting the fire out and putting the entire pan in the freezer. Natsu and Lucy hadn't had a single moment of private time together.

"Lucy! Hello! Hello, hello! Earth to Lucy, here is the famous Natsu-inator 3000 that has landed on this planet and somehow knows your name and just asked you a question! Would you like to answer this one, human girl that happens to be my soulmate?"

"Oh, sorry Natsu," Lucy said, giving him a gentle smile.

"Yes, you're right. The tattoo, or more specifically, the key does look different."

" _Haaaaaah?_ "Natsu's mouth fell open as she brought this news like she was casting the weather.

"How long have you known?" he then asked, demanding to know every single thing about this sudden change of their tattoos.

"To be honest with you Natsu, from the moment our tattoos hurted I've known the key had changed," she then said, simply shrugging her shoulders. "I wanted to tell you sooner, but then madness happened, like Levy using her fly swatter on me, you getting your ear pierced, a guy named Jeff looking for you, yelling you broke his pierced penis an-"

"HEY! Gray was the one who broke his penis! He shouldn't have smacked me on the ass with it!" Natsu yelled out.

Lucy erupted in giggles.

"You know, that has to be one of the weirdest sentences I have ever heard you say, and yes, I'm taking all those times you talked passionately about tobasco sauce into account."

Natsu's eye twitched.

"Tobasco sauce is amazing!" He then grinned widely. "I'll help you understand it! You just gotta feel what the sauce feels, Luce! Let's do an acting roleplay! I'll be me, you'll be the tobasoc sauce!"

Lucy gulped.

"I don't know if that really is a good idea..." she muttered, but her protest fell on deaf ears.

Natsu walked towards her as if he owned the entire world.

Lucy had to use all of her strength not to laugh right there, right then.

He then pretended to open the fridge, searching for something. His eyes lit up when he spotted Lucy.

 _He can't possibly be seeing me as a bottle of tobasco sauce now, can he?_ Lucy wondered.

"Aaah! Tobasco sauce, just what I wanted!" He grabbed Lucy by her waist, lifting her up and pulling out of the imaginary fridge.

"HEY! NATSU!"

"Wow.. I didn't realize there was this kind of advanced technology, the one that recognises your touch and knows your name! But if it existed, why on earth should it be on tobasco sauce bottles? Maybe because they don't want their tobasco sauce to be stolen?" He shrugged, "not that it matters! Tobasco sauce, tobasco saaaauuuce! How I love youuuuuuuuuuuuu!" he sang, completely off-key.

Lucy wasn't sure if she had to hit him on the head for being so dense, or if she should laugh at him for being so dense. And then she realised he had thrown her over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes.

"HEY! What the hell do you think you're doing, Natsu?" she yelled out.

"I'm gonna eat tobasco, tobasco, tobascoooo sauuuuceeeeee! And it'll be delicious, delicious, deliciouuuuuuuuuus! I'm gonna put in the pan, in the pan, in the paaaaaan! I'll eat it all, eat it all, eat it aaaaaaaaaall! Then I'll be happy, I'll be so happy, because there will be a fire starting in my bellyyyyyy!" he sang, completely oblivious to Lucy's protests and dancing around the kitchen.

She face-palmed.

"What am I going to do with this guy..." she muttered to no one in particular.

"So! I have my sauce! Now I just gotta shake it up a little!" He started to take Lucy off her shoulder, who let out a "Thank God" before starting to shake her up and down. And again. And again. Again.

Again.

"NATSU!"

"Aaaah, my sauce is calling for me. Just one more second, tobasco sauce!" he grinned.

"Let's squirt it all over my food!" And with that, he started to tickle her. He tickled her stomach, her foot, her arm pits, everywhere.

She started to giggle uncontrollably, trying to say things like "No, stop!" and "AHAHAHAHA PLEASE DON'T!" but it was all in vain.

He only stopped when she had tears of laughter in her eyes.

"What the hell was that for Natsu?" she then asked him, eyes turning back to normal.

"Huh? You still don't understand how tobasco sauce must feel? I guess we'll have to start over then!"

"NO! Natsu, no!" she yelled, ramming her fists on his abs as he picked her up again, and threw her over his shoulder.

"I'm gonna eat tobasco, tobasco, tobascoooo sauuuuceeeeee! And it'll be delicious, delicious, deliciouuuuuuuuuus! I'm gonna put in the pan, in the pan, in the paaaaaan! I'll eat it all, eat it all, eat it aaaaaaaaaall! Then I'll be happy, I'll be so happy, because there will be a fire starting in my bellyyyyyy!"

"NATSU!"

 **A/N**

 **I love this chappy. AND YOU STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT'S UP WITH THE KEY! I am pure evil, sorry.**

 **Also, personal story time. Thursday I fell off my horse. We could choose if we wanted to go with a saddle, or bareback. Of course, being a daredevil, I decided to go bareback. It went really well, until.. I was preparing to go gallop(yup, the one that goes pretty fast) and suddenly that son of a makes an unexpectedly and incredibly sharp turn.**

 **So I fell off.**

 **And now my back is killing me, and for some strange reason my neck is too. But I haven't had anytime to go and see a doctor bc after I fell off the docter was closed here, and Friday I had school, then had to run for work until ten pm and this morning I also had to work.**

 **I might even have some severe brain damage guys. And yet I still managed to write this one.**

 **Sorry it's a bit of a filler chapter, but at least it is funny.**

 **AND DID YOU KNOW THE FAIRY TAIL CHARACTERS HAVE CHARACTER SONGS?! I love Gajeel's one. And Lucy's. And Gray's. But that's because I cosplay female Gray. And Lucy. I don't cosplay Gajeel though. I just like blues.**

 **See you guys next time!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**

 **Again, I am ashamed. Also, I hope you guys noticed that the rating for this story went up.**

 **That is because there is a _lemon_ in this chapter. No worries, I made it clear where it begind and where it ends, and no, it is not necessary to read.**

 **The first part however, is necessary to read.**

 **I did a timeskip, because it was necessary for the story. I hope you will enjoy!**

The blonde girl was shaking. Everything was going so well, for such a long time. She never thought that he would find a way back into her life. And yet, here he was.

He was chasing her, after all this time he was still chasing after her. He would never let her go. he would haunt her nightmares forever, and after that, when he finally got what it was he wanted, he would make her life worse than death.

Not that she hadn't tried to get away from him, on the contrary. She ran away from him. She decided not to allow herself to be taken over by fear. And yet, for some reason, fear was what drived her. The fear of him. The fear of his smell. His disgusting looks. The way an evil smile would creep up on his lips when he realised she was still very much alive.

That fear alone was enough to make her blood run cold. The fear of his thought alone would make her want to shoot a bullet through her brain. It scared her senseless.

She had tried it all.

She ran away. She changed her name. She changed her appearance, wearing wigs every day. She changed jobs every three months. She changed bank accounts every half year. She moved every year. She would never be at her apartment during the day. She would stay out, she would sit in a sheltered place.

She had even changed her accent to make sure she wouldn't be recognized.

But she was too careless. After she had met _those_ people, she let her guard down. She kept the same job for over a year. She didn't switch bank accounts in two years now, almost. She didn't move away. Her hair grew back to it's original length and colour. She lost her fake accent and gained her real one back. She even dropped the contacts.

Of course, with going to college, it was hard to keep mocing around, but still, she shouldn't have been so careless. She was way too stupid, way too naive to use her real name on the apartment and her bank account.

She still hadn't told them everything, but they knew a great deal about her and why she looked so different when they met her and how she looked now. Her roommate knew more than most people did, at least about the way her dad had treated her. But no one, not even her best friend and almost brother who also was her servant knew the whole truth about what happened. And to be honest, she never would have thought she would have to tell him. Or anyone, for that matter.

She had tried so hard to get away from her past. She should have known that the past will always find it's way back to you when you least expect it.

Subconsciously, she rubbed her hand along the mark that was on her hand. The mark that indicated her home. The mark that indicated her friends, together with the love of her life. The mark that made her feel like she didn't have to run anymore.

 _God damn it_ , she even found love with that mark. When she first got it, she never knew that she would get all of this out of it. She never thought she would meet such amazing people. She never thought she would be able to make friends. She never even thought she would be able to tell her friends her last name, but she didn't want to keep lying to them. At first, they were of course surprised, but after she told them she had her private reasons, they all understood.

It had been months ever since she first met him. Almost a year now, when she thought about it. Almost half a year ever since they went to the beach and that idiot got his ear pierced. Almost half a year, and she still hadn't told him about the changing of their tattoo. Although she also was genuinely surprised he still hadn't figured it out.

It had been five months ever since they finally got together, everyone cheering. It was obvious actually, with the tattoos, but still, everyone was happy. And so was she. That day, she had felt so happy, as if nothing and no one would ever be able to take away all of her happiness.

It had been two months ever since they first slept together. It wasn't her first time, thanks to her past, but she was his first. He was a fast learner, and she loved every bit of him. He quickly got the hang of it, and it even bonded the two of them deeper. She was possibly even more happy then than how happy she was when they got together. She was so happy, hoping and praying that it would never go away.

And yet, everything would go to hell soon.

She kept running, while the man kept laughing at her. The sound of his voice echoed through the empty street, while he knocked trash cans over and didn't even try to hide himself.

"Don't you ever get tired of running, sweety~?" he then asked, the question bouncing back from the walls. The area was poorly lit, with only one street lamp. It smelled like rotten eggs and long forgotten memories.

The man then smirked. He hadn't expected anything else from his princess. Of course she'd try to get away. It took him nearly three years to find her, and when he though he had her, she was already gone away.

Atta girl. He had taught her well, that much was clear. He was almost proud of her, and how she managed to make a living for herself. At the very least, it was impressive. He had thought she would come back within weeks, months at most. After all, she ran away a lot. But she always came back.

Looking back, it was obvious she had been planning this for a long time. All those times she fake ran away, it was meant to make sure he would let his guard down. So that when she left, he'd only think it was temporary.

Well played, little girl. Well played.

The girl was bent over, trying to catch her breath when his sickening voice reached her. Shivers went down her spine and she couldn't resist the twisting of her stomach as everything she ate came out. She vomited until there was nothing left, when she suddenly heard his voice again.

"Are we playing hide and seek now, my darling? You know how much I can't resist to play a good game, and how much I enjoy them, but I don't really have the time. Although I guess I could be able to make an exception just for my love~!"

It sickened her. The way he though he owned her. The way his breath almost tickled her neck. The way his disgusting smell found a way up in her nostrills and filling them with the most unpleasant memories. She was so disgusted by his entire being, she would never willfully go back there. If necessary, she would kick and scream until he decided to leave her.

From where she was sitting now, she could see his figure, standing tall underneath the street light as he looked around, almost enjoying himself. She could see the stains of his sweat on his shirt, together with his greasy hair cut, his thin, cruel lips that held an almost knowing smile. His smile said; "I know that you're hiding, but I also know that you can never escape me. Ever."

Slowly, without making a sound, the girl got up again and moved away, careful not to let her footsteps be heard. She was almost glad she chose a dark spot to hide. She swiftly moved against the bricks, becoming one with its texture. She almost fell over, scraping her hands when she caught herself.

His head moved into her direction, like a bloodhound smelling an easy prey. His nostrills moved a bit, almost as if he was trying to smell her out. When he started walking, it was into her direction.

Her heartbeat started to pick up its pace, and she felt as if her heart went any faster, ut would burst out of her ribcage and fly away. Lord, _please help me_ , she thought as she desperately tried to get a grip and move on.

Once she was out of his reach, she ran away again, as a shadow into the dark night, desperately trying to unattach itself from its owner.

 **##**

"Huh? Lucy? What're you doing here? Didn't we get some action last night?" Natsu mumbled into his pillow while the blonde was siting next to him on his bed.

Her long, blonde hair fell down to her shoulders and her breath was still quick and not too deep.

"I'm sorry Natsu. But I need it right now," she replied, still shaking.

Natsu got up and looked her deep in the eyes.

"Hey Luce, what's wrong?"

He grabbed her hands and squeezed them between his palms, eyes filling with concern for his beloved soulmate.

"I-It's nothing, really. Just, please give me this now. Tomorrow, I'll do my best to explain this to you. But please, if only for tonight, allow me to be selfish." Lucy's eyes teared up as Natsu leaned over and gave her a peck on the lips.

"If it is what you really want," he said in a deep, husky voice, "then I'll give it to you."

Their lips connected again, lasting much longer than just the simple peck he had given her before. This was not just a kiss, it was a kiss filled with pain, loneliness and comfort, all at the same time.

\- **Lemon starts here. If you cannot handle such a thing, I would not recommend reading. Then again, it's your decision. Reading is at your own risk!-**

Natsu slowly opened his mouth against hers, scraping his teeth softly at her bottom lip and licking her upper lip with his tongue until she opened her mouth for him to enter.

Her mouth was like a hot cavern, and even after nearly four months of kissing her like this, there was still so much to explore for him. He moved his tongue against Lucy's and he felt her moan more than that he heard it.

Slowly, he laid his arms around her neck and caressed the back of her neck, together with the line of her hair.

Shivers went down her spine as his warm hands touched her neck and she could feel herself getting turned on already. Wanting to give him the same sensation, she put her hand on his neck and started to draw small circles, just underneath his earlobe. He moaned into their kiss as well and he shifted her more onto his lap as their making out ended when he gasped for air.

"Gods, Luce, you're gonna be the death of me," Natsu said, panting. Lucy only smiled to him in response as she hugged him close and ran one hand over his abs.

Suddenly, Natsu felt too hot, although he only had his underwear on while Lucy was still wearing her jeans and her tank top.

He slowly broke them apart, and she looked at him, confused. He then ran his hand up her spine, starting at the curve of her ass and slowly moving up, underneath the sheer fabric of her tank top. When his hands found the clasp of her bra, he looked at her and she nodded.

He slowly undid the clasp, making her bra fall off as it was a strapless one and then massaging the lowest point of her shoulder while she took her jeans off.

She then pushed him down the bed and laid down next to him.

The next thing he knew, she was kissing his neck softly, tenderly while her hand was caressing his ear, just the way she knew he liked it.

Natsu moaned her name, and she hummed in response, moving on to his earlobe and softly sucking it, before biting it softly, which made Natsu gasp as he saw stars.

Lucy slowly moved over to him, sitting on top of him and then softly kissing him on the lips again.

"Luce, you're so beautiful. I almost can't believe you are my soulmate," he said, stroking her hair.

She gave him a sad smile, as she softly said; "Me neither."

He then moved his hands up, touching the rubber band of her underwear while she moaned. His hands then traveled up, over her stomach and slowly taking her tank top off, leaving her in only her lacy underwear as her two breasts became revealed.

God, they were so beautiful. Natsu gulped, he couldn't believe he was so lucky.

He slowly massaged his way up to her breasts, starting at her stomach, then over her ribcage, and -finally, Lucy thought- the underneath of her breasts. He then massaged her right boob, careful not to touch her nipple just yet, while he kissed her other boob.

Lucy moaned in anticipation, waiting until his warms hands and tongue would touch her nipples.

And when he finally did, she swore she saw stars. An usual know started to form in her stomach, and the ache that was between her legs started to grow stronger and stronger as he slowly played with her boobs.

He swirled his tongue around her nipple, and with the other hand, he pinched her nipple, pulled a bit before getting back to massaging. After a few minutes, he switched. Lucy was still moaning, the ache growing stronger and stronger and she noticed that his penis was also growing.

Wanting to give him something back, she stroked his underpants with one hand softly, and with her other hand she was touvhing the inner side of his thighs, his lower stomach and his ass, until she made her way up to the band of his underwear.

In one swift motion, she pulled them off and started massaging his pulsing member.

Natsu gasped for air and forgot about pleasuring Lucy as her small, soft hands gave him sweet and tender strokes. Her hands felt so good on his member and he groaned as she slowly picked up the pace a bit.

"God damn it Luce, are you trying to kill me?" he managed to get out, between the gasps for air and the moaning.

She only smiled in response and picked up the pace again.

Just as he was about to come, he removed her hand.

When she shot him a look, he said; "I don't want to come just yet, I want to pleasure you first."

And he did.

Natsu slowly took off her underwear, as he went back to kissing her nipple. The ache between her legs grew back and she moaned again, even more when she felt his hand softly touching her center.

He enjoyed it a bit too much, teasing her. He moved his hand around for a bit, before he found her clit as she gasped for air.

He then softly stroked it with his thumb as her moans became louder and louder.

Then, he stopped kissing her boob and softly inserted one finger in her hot center.

It almost was too much for Lucy. If she saw stars before, now she saw the entire galaxy waving at her.

But he wasn't done yet. While he continued to tease her with his finger, he slowly spread her legs with his other hand and positioned himself in between.

Lucy, realising what he wanted to go, was about to protest when she felt his hot tongue.

All she could do after that was moan as her mind went blank and she forgot why she even wanted to complain in the first place.

Because _damn_ , he was good with his mouth. It made her forget all of her troubles, if even for a while.

She could feel her muscles contracting, and not long after that she came, moaning his name and breathing heavily.

Natsu then gave her one last lick, before positioning himself. He looked at her, to see if she was alright.

She looked like an angel. Her hair was all sweaty, together with her body, but she was glowing. The tattoo on her wrist and his bicep indicsted that they were doing the right thing, that they should do this.

She then nodded.

Slowly, he inserted himself into her, and once he was fully inside, he looked at her again to see if it ws okay if he started moving.

It was almost too much for him not to, because being inside of her made him feel all kinds of good, but he waited until she nodded.

After that, he slowly started to thrust in and out of her, massaging her clit with his thumb and leaning in for a kiss.

Lucy could taste herself in the kiss, but she didn't mind. It only made her more aroused, if that was even possible. She loved him so, so much.

And tonight was their last night together, ever. She wanted it to last forever, but it couldn't. She would bring him on so much danger. It was because she loved him, that she did this.

After some time, he could feel himself getting close again. He picked up the pace, but still went fairly slow. After all, this wasn't brainless fucking, this was making love.

When he finally came, feeling exhausted, she gave him a long, sweet kiss.

 **\- End of lemon-**

"I love you, Natsu."

"I love you too, Luce. I love you even more than I love tobasco sauce."

Lucy giggled.

"Thanks, I know your love for it is immense."

"I know right?! So that's how much you mean to me. And now ssh, I wanna sleep."

"Sure sleepy head," she said, playfully hitting his head.

"Yes. Now c'mere, I wanna hold you."

His arms tied around her waist, as they finally fell asleep.

 **##**

His bed felt cold. That was the first thing Natsu Dragneel noticed in the morning.

The second thing he noticed was that his soulmate was missing.

"Luce?"

Standing up, he decidded to look around. Maybe she was in the kitchen.

Once he got downstairs, he yelled out her name again, but still no response.

He went over to the counter, and he found a note lying on it.

As he opened it, his whole world started to crumble.

"No.." he whispered. He quickly got dressed, grabbed his shoes and coat and ran out of the door, the note still in his hand.

It had only one word written on it.

 _Sorry._

 **A/N**

 **Whew, quite a ride huh?**

 **I know the first part doesn't exactly make a lot of sense, but trust me, it will make sense soon.**

 **But yay, a peek into Lucy's past! I have made it more dramatic than I intented to do tho, sorry. Oh well. I got caught up. I was listening to Sub Pub Music- Lucifer(btw check it out bc it is AMAZING) and then everything just went to shit. HAH.**

 **And yes, in this story, from now on, shit's also going down. Main storyline is kicking in. We had fun and games, now things get serious. Don't worry, it'll still have funny moments. But the real storyline is setting in now.**

 **Also, any ideas on who our lovely -ahem- mystery guest is? I don't know if you'll be able to guess it.**

 **If you wanna complain about the lemon, sorry not sorry. It was necessary for the story. No, you don't have to read it, but it _is_ necessary. **

**Plus, I wanted to try and write smut so yea. Again, sorry not sorry.**

 **AND HOLY FUCKING SHIT GUYS OVER 150 FOLLOWERS AND 100+ FAVOURITES _AND_ 77 REVIEWS? What have I done to deserve this?**

 **Last thing, would any of you guys like a Christmas special from Art of the Soul? And if you do, which couple would you like to see?**

 **That's all for now!**

 **Hope you enjoyed, see you next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N**

 **I have nothing to say. I have been so extremely busy! AND I AM SO SORRY!**

 ***bows head***

 **Secondly, I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and a great New Year's Eve! Did you all come back safely with all 9 fingers? Huehuehue. I'm not funny, I'll stop making bad jokes that only I laugh at.**

 **But seriously, Christmas was insane. 2th of December I went to a cosplay meet, 25th Christmas Day, 26th Boxing Day, 27th was like Third Christmas Day and 28th was like Fourth Christmas Day. 29th, work. 30th, I had a date(YES I AM STILL SINGLE). 31th, NYE.**

 **Bottom line, insanely busy. But I quit my job, so I should have more time to write.**

 **I also would like to thank everyone who has left me a review, and so many new folllowers and favourites! Thank you all so much for the all the support that you guys have given me so far! *^***

 **This chapter may be short, but it does have a lot of information in it. Every single thing in it is important.**

 **That being said, I hope you all enjoy!**

The wind was gently blowing as the waves of the sea rolled against the ship. Her long hair moved along with the rythem that the wind created as she held on to the hat she was wearing for disguise.

In her hands she firmly held her fake ID, togehter with her purse that was filled with all the money she had on her bank account. This morning she immediately went to the bank and took all the money she had, before closing her account.

When the clerk asked her why, she simply shrugged and said it wasn't the right thing for her, anyway.

Now she was on her way, to continue this cat and mouse game. She sighed. When was it all going to end? Why did he have to find her? What could she have done to make it easier for them all? Would it have been better if she never told them the truth? Her heart clenched at the thought of her friends, and her loved one. At least she knew they were all safe.

She hadn't told them where she would be going, nor did she tell them anything about her new identity. She had only told them about the fake identities, all the bank accounts and the changing appearances. They would be safe. Soon enough, he would see they had nothing to tell him about her whereabouts, and they'd all be left alone.

Unless he would go as fas as kidnap one of them, only to get her back.

One single tear rolled down her cheek and landed on the plastic card that gave all the information about her new life.

It would be definitely weird, she thought. She had been Lucy for so long, being someone else was so new. She had been through it a lot of times, but this time, she had grown attachted to her life her. She would no longer be Lucy Heartfilia, the coffee girl, the regular at Fairy Tail. She would no longer be the girl that played the best prank on Natsu. She would no longer be the best friend of Levy McGarden, or Juvia Lockser's Love Rival. She would no longer be the girl that played the song at the beach, while even Gajeel Redfox cried and secretly had admitted to her that she was good. Never again would she be the girl that had the last piece of strawberry cake, or the girl that could laugh so much.

Now she would be Claire Renolds, full name Claire Annabella Renolds-Lancaster. The name tasted weird in her mouth, no matter how many times she twisted and turned it around.

Date of birth: 7th of May.

Again, weird. She was born on the first of July, not the seventh of May. On the bright side, she'd be one year older earlier. But the not so bright side would be that it was another lie. When would all these lies? When would she finally be free?

Physical appearance: Red hair, over the shoulders. Brown eyes.

Good thing she already dyed it, just out of precaution. She could also wear a wig, but after she'd done it for so many times, she now knew that it would get itchy, not to mention annoying. She preferred dying it. After letting her hair grow, she could now dye it without too many damage. Of course, she would still have to cut off a part of her hair to match the description, but if that was all, she'd happily take it. A plus was the eye colour, she didn't have to wear contacts this time. Although it made her feel a bit like Erza, the red hair and brown eyes.

Living relatives: none. Claire was found at an adoption centre, and the nurses gave her the name.

Not true. She still had a living relative. And although he didn't love her, she could say that he also didn't want this to happen. It was to bad that his regret came too late, as always. Another tear escaped her eyes as she thought about her father. He hadn't wanted this to happed to his only daughter, she was sure of that. But it was him that gave away the information, most likely even without his knowledge.

Partners: none.

That was when she really started to cry. She had a partner, aan amazing one, for fuck's sake! But she couldn't do it. She would also have to hide her tattoo, or go to another tattoo artist and ask him if he could temporarily change the design of it. But she wasn't sure if that was what she really wanted. The little key, surrounded by the flames. It gave her comfort, looking at it.

Funny how Natsu never noticed that the key had changed into the key of the beach house. She managed to get a watery smile on her face when she thought back to that holiday. Tattoos only changed when something happened that would influence the both of them forever. In this case, it wasn't too hard to connect the dots. Obviously, it meant that they would live together it that beach house one day, with their kids.

Natsu.

Natsu Dragneel.

His eyes. His body. His hair. His toothy grin. His laugh. His smile. His loving nature. His amazing skill. His childish ways. His warmth. His funny and carefree personality. His fights with Gray. His little dragon pierced in his ear. His heart, overflowing with love for all the kids at the daycare.

She hoped that Wendy and Romeo could forgive her for never knowing the ending to her story. She truly hoped they could forgive her, for not publishing her stories.

But most of all, she hoped that Natsu could forgive her. For not telling him the whole truth about her life. For not telling him how much she really loved him. He truly was perfect for her, but because she wasn't honest, because she was scared, she had ruined it all.

She hoped that one day he would be able to see that all of it was for his own protection. Although knowing him, he'd probabl yell; "TO HELL WITH THAT, LUCE!" She giggled. That truly would be his response.

Her eyes became filled with regret. It hurt, she realised. It hurt so much. Every signle heartbeat hurt. Every single mile the ship went, she would be further and further apart from her loved ones.

"Sulking again, M'Lady?"

She turned around, letting go of her hat. Her eyes widened as she recognised him.

"Sting!"

She threw her arms around him, happy that at least he was there with her.

One look at her appearance, her puffy eyes, the tears rolling down her cheeks and the ID she still clammed in her hand made him know what was going on. He also knew that this time, she thought that she had to do it all again on her own.

"He came around again, didn't he?"

He didn't need to hear the answer, but he could feel her nodding against his torso, her teary eyes leaving some stains on his shirt. Sting's eyes grew soft, putting one arm around her and caressing her hair with his other hand. He noticed a lot of regret and pain in her eyes.

"I'm truly sorry, eeeh..." He quickly glanced at her fake ID, "Claire Annabella Renolds-Lancaster." He then embraced her, providing her some comfort.

Lucy half-heartedly laughed. "It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?"

Her hat got blown off by the wind and taken to a far away place. The two of them only looked at the dance the wind performed, with her hat as a lonely dancer. Her freshly dyed locks danced along, but they could never reach the hat again. Almost as if her hair was Natsu, and the hat was Lucy.

Sting whistled.

"The red hair looks good on you, Claire. I like it," he said, letting her out of his embrace but holding her hand. He softly caressed her hand with his thumb.

"It does? Thanks, Sting," she smiled to him, "but I feel a bit like a girl I met and became friends with." Her facial expression became not as sad as it was while she thought of them.

"Do you now? I'm glad you made some friends, Claire Annabella Renolds-Lancaster."

Lucy laughed openly at his silliness, and he grinned back at her.

His grin.. So much like Natsu's grin was.

"Oh shit, what happened Luce?" Sting asked, forgetting about the new name as he noticed her sadness.

"It's just.. I finally met my soulmate when I settled down there.." She could feel new tears forming in her eyes. "Just my luck, huh?" She gave a soft laugh, as she shakily continued. "Your grin and his... They look a lot like each other."

Sting nodded in understanding. "You do have awful luck, you know?" He glanced at her sidewards, and to his relief, she was breathing steadily and even laughing a bit at his remark.

Sting himself had not met his soulmate. He would usually help Lucy settle in, and then leave when he knew she would be fine, to go on another adventure. This time, it was sheer luck that he met her on the boat. Usually, she would call him with a secret number and they'd run off together. But of course, being away so many times, it meant he never setlled down and didn't have much chance to meet his soulmate.

"Hey Luce," he softly said.

She smiled up to him. "What, Sting?"

"You know, you look ridiculously hot with the red hair and that pair of boobs you have also doesn't hurt too mu- OUCH!" Lucy had smacked his arm.

"No talking about my boobs." She glared at him, but at the same time smiled.

"Okay okay, you have well developed lady part- THAT ALSO HURT!" She had pinched him this time.

"Stop talking about it."

"FINE! You look nice," he looked at Lucy, who seemed to be satisfied with that, and he coughed as he continued, "and knowing you, you're gonna cover up that tattoo of yours."

He knew her so well, it was ridiculous. Then again, what did she expect? This was her partner in crime, he knew everything about her.

"Yeah, so?" she asked him, wanting to know what he was getting at.

"Why not ask if it can be altered to look like mine for the time being?" he then asked.

Lucy immediately understood what he was saying. Not only was he offering her protection from creeps and _him_ , he was also willing to give up his love for traveling around the country and meeting new people, seeing new places.

"Sting, do you realise what exactly you are offering here?" she asked him, praying he'd understood what he just had said.

It was his time to smack her on her arm, before pulling her into a hug.

"Of course I do, you weirdo. Would I have offered it if I didn't understand what it meant? Yes, I'm gonna miss the traveling. Of course I will. But you are more important to me. Plus, ours already look very similar, I don't see the problem," he send her a cheeky wink.

When they first met, they were both happy, thinking they'd met their soulmate. Imagine the disappointment when Sting had white flames, and hers were real flames. Now they were great friends, and truth be told, Lucy didn't mind if he tagged along.

"Okay. I don't mind, to be honest. But do you have a new identity with you? I mean, you are kind of chaotic after all and after having travelled with you for so long I know you can forget a lot of things, but I am not gonna stand for you if you choose to use your real name because he _knows_ we are great friends and I don't want him to go after you and well it's just that I- Hey, you have one!"

Name: Alex Dumas, full name Alexandre Ray Dumas.

Birthday: 17th of August.

Living relatives: none. He was raised in a foster home, but they died when he was 14 years old.

Partners: None.

Physical appearance: Dark brown hair, piercing blue eyes.

It took her a moment to take it all in.

"You really are willing to do this with me?" she asked.

She could already read the answer in his eyes.

"Anytime, M'Lady."

The wind was lying down, and her hat fell into the water, forever floating along and never knowing where it's true destination lay.

Lucy turned her back to it. The hat was from a distant life, one she would never live again. She sent up a prayer for Natsu, Levy, Gray, Juvia, Gajeel and Erza. She prayed that they would always be safe, and she wished she could have told them more.

Maybe one day, when all of this was over, she would come to visit them one day. Until that day came, she would live and run. Maybe one day, when she had gathered the old gang and found her strength, she would confront him. But for now, she was content with the knowledge that they were safe and sound. She would always care for them.

Sting started walking towards her, opening his arms for her. She knowingly smiled at him, as she finished her prayer.

She prayed that she could come home one day. Home to where her true soulmate was.

Home wo where Natsu was, where their beach house was.

She had left him a small present. In it was the key of the beach house and a small note attached, saying that this was they key that was now standing on their tattoos. She hoped he could be able to understand why she decided to run.

Most of all, she hoped he could find it in himself to forgive her one day.

She had written letters to everyone else, too. They were all laying on her bed, for each one she had written one.

The final tear fell down her cheek, as she accepted Sting's embrace and set them all free, praying they would remember her.

Praying she would still have a home when she came back.

No, not when she came back.

If she came back.

 **A/N**

 **Whieuw.. Quite the ride.**

 **AND YAY STING IS HERE! I really like Sting, he and Lucy are kinda like my brotp, they would be so cute together as best friends! But of course, NaLu is number one in OTP land. Dear God I ship them so hard.**

 **Next chapter is going to be the rest of the gang as they find the letters, and of course we'll have a raging Natsu. I mean, c'mon, poor guy. Finally meeting his soulmate, having the best sex of his life and then getting left behind the next day?**

 **That's low, Lucy. Really low. Even though I am the one who wrote that.**

 **Also, I'm working on the GaLe Christmas special. I'm not sure yet if I am going to publish it as a chapter in this story, or as a one-shot in a spin-off collection.**

 **We'll see what I am going to do.**

 **I hope you enjoyed it, even though it is quite short. Also, I can't belive this story is still going. It was all an idea months ago, and now I'm already here!**

 **I think I have material left for about 6-7 chapters, and then Art Of The Soul is officially over *cries***

 **Last thing(holy shit, why are my AN's always so long? Does anyone even read this?), a few chapters ago I mentioned my cosplay page. Here's the link, if you want to check it out ^^**

 **WHYY? Okay, basically, go to FB, then add the /cosplayunderground/ in the url. You should get there. I forgot how annoying ff is with links ._.**

 **cosplayunderground/**

 **Anyway, please favourite, follow, and if you happen to have some time to spare, review!**

 **See you next time!(and I hope it isn't gonna take this long again. If it takes too long, kick my ass, 'kay?)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N**

 **LOOK AT THIS TREAT!**

 **Aren't you all happy you follow this story. Another update, so super fast. I also don't know what has gotten into me. Maybe I'd like to please all the new followers.**

 **Welcome, new followers, by the way. As you noticed, I ramble a lot in these Author's Notes. Hehe. Sorry.**

 **As promised, the next chapter! Let's see how Natsu reacted, shall we?**

"What do you mean, there is no sign of her?"

The young man ran a hand through his already messed up pink locks, looking extremely frustrated. He couldn't believe it. Why had something like this happened to him? Was this the so-called karma? Did he really do so much things wrong in his life that he had deserved this kind of thing?

Just last night- was it really just last night?- he was still together with his loving, caring soulmate. He should have known something was off by then. She looked far too disstressed, not to mention uncomfortable. And sad, too. If only he wasn't so sleepy, if only he hadn't been so focused on the physical pleasure, he would have noticed. Maybe he then could have gotten her to talk about it. Maybe he could have helped her. Maybe he could have even stopped her, or at least made her talk about her ideas. Now she was gone, and he would never truly understand why.

Natsu felt like punching a wall, or maybe his own head. All because of his own stupidity, she had left him. He knew something was up with her past, but she never told him what exactly was going on.

She had said that one day she would tell him, and everyone else, what exactly had happened. She would tell them as soon as she was sure she was safe. It hurt him to no extend, knowing that she would never be able to tell them what exactly had happened in her past. It also made him rethink their entire relationship. Did he really come off as that un-trustworthy? He never pushed her about telling, but she knew he was curious about her past. She had kept it to herself.

Even Levy couldn't help him further with that. Although the two girls were best friends, she claimed that Lucy also never told her the whole story, to keep her safe. Natsu could understand Lucy's logic, he could see where she came from. After all, he also hadn't told her about his past. But that was different!

"Is it really that different, Ash Flame?" came the voice from the other end of his phone.

Natsu practically jumped up, then mentally cursed himself. He had forgotten he was on the phone wit Gray, and he most definitely hadn't meant to say the last part out loud.

Grumbling, he thought about it.

He had his own secrets that he didn't want to tell. Was it really that wrong from Lucy not wanting to tell him her secrets? Natsu didn't want her to know about every little thing he had done wrong in the past either. When you looked at it in that way, it did make sense to him.

"I guess you're right, Stripper," he grumbled through his teeth. Natsu hated to admit that Gray was right, but this time he really couldn't fight it.

A faint laugh came from the other end.

"Of course I'm right, when am I not?" Natsu could almost _hear_ the bastard's smirk. But before he could make a snarly remark about it, Gray had already continued talking.

"Look, I get that it sucks. Wait, scratch that. It is a lot more that just that. It doesn't just suck. If Juvia had left me like that, I don't know what I would do. I would be upset, angry even. I don't know if I could truly accept her decision, but I would have no choice but to have faith in her. I seriously cannot imagine myself in your shoes right now. Knowing you, you probably feel like this is your fault, that you should have noticed something off about her behaviour."

When Natsu didn't answer, Gray sighed. Sometimes Natsu was too thick-headed and couldn't face reality. It was time to pull out the big guns.

"Natsu, you know I rarely use your name unless I mean it in a mocking way, so I hope that makes you realize how serious I am about this. There was nothing you could have done about it. We all know the girl, and nothing could have stopped her from going if she wanted to go. After all, this is Lucy we are talking about. Since when did she let someone stop her?"

Gray closed his eyes, praying he got through that thick skull of Natsu's.

"I.. I guess so.. But then again, I just feel so stupid about this! I wish I could have done something! I know you told me there was nothing I could have done, but at the very least it would give me some peace of mind if I knew why!"

When Gray didn't answer, he knew something was up. He could only wonder what exactly it could be. Knowing Gray, he had also called Juvia and Gajeel, for obvious reasons. Gray wanted Juvia there for mental support, although he'd never admit it, and he wanted Gajeel there to support Levy.

But that didn't explain why he didn't answer.

Curious, Natsu tried listening a bit better to the other end of the phone line.

Faint mumbling was something Natsu could hear, but he couldn't make out the words, except when the talking grew louder. Natsu's impatience grew. He had called Gray as soon as he found her note, sending him over to her apartment to inform Levy. For the most of their phone call, he had been on his way to the girls' apartment, hoping to provide some first aid in comforting Levy until Gajeel and Juvia arrived.

Throughout the whispering, he could also make out a high, feminine voice. He could only guess that that was Levy.

Their talking started to get on his nerves, but he didn't want to lose his temper. Only when he could hear Gray gasp, he yelled through the phone; "OI! I AM ALSO STILL HERE!"

"Natsu?" a feminine voice answered.

Immediately, he could feel his cheeks starting to burn as embarassment ran through him. He hadn't meant to lash out against Gray, let alone Levy. Another sign that he was stressed out and worried sick about his soulmate.

"I'm sorry, Levy." Once again, he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm just so worried about her. All she left was this one note, nothing more! And only one word written on it! _Sorry_! What the hell am I supposed to do with that? Couldn't she have left me something more? You'd almost think that I meant nothing to her!" Immediately after he said it, he regretted it. He hadn't meant to say that. Natsu knew the past months meant everything to Lucy. He was just so frustrated and scared, he couldn't control his emotions.

"Yes.. About that.. I think you should come over, Natsu," she spoke softly into his ear, sounding a bit hesitant. Immediately, he started to worry, but before he could act on it, she spoke again. "She left some letters for all of us. I think it would be best if you came over. Gajeel and Juvia have also arrived, we are waiting for you to arrive. That's when we'll open ours too."

 **##**

 _Dear Natsu,_

 _First of all, please don't be too mad, especially not at yourself. I know how you look, wipe that frown of your face! You look like some sort of turtle when you frown, did you know? Or maybe because you eat too much tobasco sauce, I don't really know why. But that frown makes you look like a turtle, and you make the weirdest turtle I have ever seen in my entire life._

 _Now.. Where do I begin? Since you are reading this letter, I am guessing it is because I ran away. I TOLD YOU NOT TO FROWN! So I did run away. Don't worry about my safety, I will be fine. As you know, this isn't the first time I ran. So no worrying. You know I can take it, and I won't be alone either. And even if I was alone, would it matter? You know that I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself! Erza also trained me, so I can hold my ground. But no, she wasn't the one who taught me how to kick like that. That would be Loke._

 _I wish I could tell you why I ran, but I can't. Don't give me that look, Natsu. I know you want to come with me, and beat up whoever the hell made me do this. But you can't. This isn't someone you can fight like that. He is not exactly the smartest guy out there, but he has his underlings who do all the thinking for him. You can't beat these guys with sheer force Natsu. Please don't even try to._

 _I know you are hurting. I truly am sorry for putting you through all of this, but it needs to be done. Like I said, you need to fight this guy from the shadows. It's not possible to take him head on. But I can't give you too much information, that would put all of you in danger. I won't even tell you his name. Because if I do, it means you are going to run straight towards his house and demand that I come home._

 _If you do that, you would put me in a lt of danger, Natsu. He doesn't know yet that I am gone, and I'd like to keep it like that for as long as possible. It truly is for the best. I don't expect you to understand, I know it is a lot to take in. You have never been good with getting a lot of information at once, that's why i always told you in pieces. Too bad I can't do that anymore._

 _Remember that one time when you tried to understand my logic? In the end, your head hurt so bad you had to go home and lay in bed for the rest of the day. If I tried to explain everything to you, I know your headache would last for weeks. Knowing you, your head is already hurting from having to read so much. Sorry about that._

 _The last thing I'd like to tell you, is that I love you. I love you so, so much. Before I met you, I never understood how people could be so happy with their soulmate. Truth be told, I didn't really understand love. Of course, I was looking for it. But I was not sure if it was meant for me. When I first met you, I passed out. Mostly because you didn't understand what the tattoos meant, remember that?_

 _And then you took me to the kindergarten, where you volunteered. It made me see you in a new light. It made me think that fate might finally tried to make up things up to me. You were so good with them, it made my heart swell with pride to be your soulmate. It made me so extremely happy, knowing I found the one._

 _And then we went to the beach house. I still remember your whiny face when the tattoos hurt. You truly are just like a little kid at times, Natsu. But I wouldn't want you any other way. I still think it is pretty funny you never figured it out. But since I am no longer around, I'll tell you._

 _The key in our tattoo is exactly the same as the key to the beach house. Don't look so puzzled, it is pretty obvious. Although I am not sure what it means, I like to think that it means we were meant to live in that beach house together. Maybe with a couple of kids around, when we are older and have our degrees. It seems nice, doesn't it? Having our own little place, together with kids.. I guess I shouldn't dream about that anymore._

 _I have always dreamed about living close to the beach, even though I had a house there. I guess it was just a silly dream of a silly girl, right? Now I know you would slap me playfully, and tell me I act silly now, but now that I'm gone, I'll hit myself playfully. I'm not very good at it, but it'll have to do for now._

 _I truly am going to miss you, Natsu. Please, don't look for me. It's for your own safety._

 _I love you,_

 _Lucy._

Tears were flowing from his cheeks onto his letter as he clutched it and held it close to his heart.

"Stupid," he mumbled. "For my own safety, huh? As if I'd let anyone hurt you! And stop comparing me to a turtle! I am manly as hell, a turtle can't even hold a candle next to me," he shakily said.

He then took a deep breath, filling his lungs with clean air, trying to regain his calmth. His voice grew softer when he spoke again. "Although you do really know me best, Luce. I totally would jump the gun for you, and you knew it. That's why you left me this letter only, to make sure I didn't follow you."

His shoulders started to shake, as he allowed his tears to flow freely.

Gray and Levy stood together with their soulmates next to them, unsure of what to do as Natsu continued to talk to himself.

"The worst thing is, I now see why you came to me last night. You wanted to be sure that I truly loved you. You are so full of love, Luce. I hope that one day I can learn to be more like you. I will never understand why you are my soulmate. You deserve someone so much better than me. You deserve someone that you can trust completely. Curse these tattoos!"

No one knew where Natsu got the knife from, or why. Next thing they knew, he had planted the knife into the heart of their tattoo, destroying it completely.

"Natsu!" Levy gasped, running towards him. "Why did you do that?" she asked him, eyes open wide.

Behind her, Gajeel walked towards the window, then turning around to talk to the rest.

"Think about, would ya idiots? If Shrimp here left me, and all I had left was our tattoo, it would hurt me too to even look at it. Natsu here's tryin' to accept it, but he can't when there's still a piece of their love holding them together. Compared to the pain he'd feel for the rest of his life when he looks at it, this physical pain is a small offer. I can't say I'd do the same as this idiot here," he pointed his thumb at Natsu, who was finally completely falling apart, "but I can see where he's coming from."

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia hissed at her best friend, trying to hit him.

"What? I ain't saying I agree, but I can understand. The hell is wrong with that?" Gajeel scowled, before yelping because Juvia yanked his hair.

"Don't you dare, Gajeel-kun!" she yelled at him, yanking his hair again.

"I- OKAY FINE, I'm sorry, alright? I just tried to make everyone see why he'd so it, not make you angry!" he said back to her, trying to restrain himself from yelling at her.

"Juvia understands, Gajeel-kun. She also misses Lucy-san dearly, but do you see her saying stupid things?"

"I.. Alright woman, I get the point. Now shouldn't we help this idiot?" he asked, trying to free his hair from Juvia's stong grasp.

Natsu finally ripped the knife out, blood rushing out quickly.

"I truly am an idiot, aren't I, Luce?" he asked to nobody in particular, looking up. "Look at what you're doing to me, even when you're not around. Metal Face is right, it would hurt me too much to look at our tattoo. It would remind me too much of our happy times together. But don't worry, I will keep your letter safe. You know what really, really hurts me? Not knowing if I said that I love you more than anything in this world when I last saw you," Natsu said, holding his injured arm. Blood was creeping through his fingers as he tried to close the wound he caused himself.

"So I'll say it now. I love you, Lucy Heartfilia, or whatever name you are using right now. I will keep on loving you. You will always have a place in my heart. I'm sorry I destroyed our tattoo. Maybe I'll go see Jeff, asking him if he can design it again for me. Or maybe asking him if he can design a tattoo that suits us. But I'll wear it on a more intimate place. A place for only me to see."

Natsu was starting to look extremely pale, and it took him everything he had to find the strength to speak.

"Quick! We have to get him to the hospital!" Levy then yelled, finally unfrozen. She shoved her phone into Gray's face, then rushing over to Natsu's side.

"Don't worry Natsu, Lu-chan will come back to you. This is a battle she has to fight on her own, but she will be back. For now, please keep your eyes open. Stay with us. How do you think Lucy would react when she returns if she found out you died by an injury you gave yourself?" she asked him, trying not to cry.

Natsu managed to crack half a smile, as he said; "She'd say that it would sound like something I'd totally do."

 **A/N**

 **Don't hate me! *flies away in fear***

 **I hope this was a good chapter. I am also not going to lie, I cried while writing it.**

 **The sone that inspired this chapter is "Shouldn't be a good in goodbye" by Jason Walker.**

 **I love that guy, although I also think he has some serious issues when I listen to his songs. Poor dude must've went through some severe heartbreak several times.**

 **I hope you enjoyed it, despite the overflowing sadness.. *sigh***

 **Everything I write always turns out so dramatic.. Damn the drama llama inside my head.**

 **Until next time, lovelies! Don't forget to follow, favourite and if you have time, review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N**

 **Okay.. I have no excuse. Well, I do, but I'm sure that you don't want to read them and just read the chapter instead.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy! A lot of things will be explained in this chapter, so make sure you read it carefully!**

She felt something. The feeling was one she could not really describe. All she knew was that it hurt. It hurt a lot. Worst part, the pain started deep inside her heart and then spread out to her chest, her stomach, and then travelled it's way through her legs and arms, finally setteling on her wrist.

It started to burn. It hurt her so bad, it was insane. She doubled over, breathing heavy. Trying to catch her breath, she started to count to ten. And back to zero. To ten again.

She started feeling dizzy, her sight leaving her in the dark. She balled her hands into fists, trying to regain her posture.

"LUCY!" A voice was calling for her, a voice filled with concern for her well-being. She wanted to say she was okay, that she would live through this, and that it wasn't the end. But she was scared. Scared that when she opened her mouth she would scream bloody murder.

Her hand grabbed her other wrist, trying to soothe the pain that was shooting through her. Her legs started to tremble and she wasn't sure how much longer they were able to support her weight. She closed her eyes, still soothing her wrist. It felt as if someone had stabbed her, and was now twisting around the knife in her wrist.

"Lucy! Please, if you can hear me, nod or something! I need to know if you are okay now, I have to know! Please, pretty, pretty please, tell me that this isn't because of him, that you are hurting so bad! I have to know!"

Could she do that? Could she nod without going crazy and feeling like someone was splitting her head in two? Could she?

She tried moving her head, but it didn't look much like she was nodding. More like she was dead and there was a wind blowing, playing with her corpse. It was good enough, right? She managed to move her head without screaming.

She dared opening her eyes and met a pair of blue ones, staring right back at her with concern.

"Thank goodness, you can hear me. Since you are not answering, I have two theories. The first one being you just like to mess with my head, like you always do, but you don't look like you're up for messing with me. That leaves me with my second and most likely accurate theory, this one being that you are in a lot of pain and don't want to open your mouth because then you are going to scream."

He knelt down and brought his head closer to hers.

"I am always here, okay?" Lucy nodded. The pain was still there, and that could mean only one thing. Natsu had done something. She didn't know what, but she was certain that he was hurting.

But couldn't he see that she was also hurting? Maybe even more? She finally found everything she had ever wanted, but her past had caught up with her and she couldn't face it when everyone was there to support her.

No matter how hard she ran, he'd only play with her.

As if she wasn't worthy. As if she couldn't fight. Truth be told, when she first met him, she couldn't fight. But she had changed, she had grown stronger and more determined.

Her eyes became harder, determined.

Could she speak? The question lingered in her mind for a while, and the more she thought about it, the more she became certain that she could most definitely speak. Maybe through gritted teeth, maybe hissing, but she ws certain she could speak now.

"Why?" was the word that she finally said. A good question, indeed. Why? Why did that lunatic come after her? Because of her last name? Because the relation he had had with her father?

It all didn't make sense for her.

Sting ony nodded. "Why seems fit, indeed. I can't answer it, though. Unfortunately, but if I knew the answer, I would have already gotten rid of him and you didn't have to go through all of this. I'm sorry, Lucy," he said as he scooted closer and kissed her forehead. A gentle touch, one that felt foreign after Natsu's rough touches that left a fire inside of her.

Natsu.

She truly loved him. She loved every single thing about him, even how much he liked his tobasco sauce. She closed her eyes again, and let the memories wash over her. The first one she got was the memory when she looked at his Instagram photos, and then meeting him. The next one she found was the one of them together in the kindergarten, playing with the kids.

Lucy smiled as she remembered that day. She still had the shirt that the kids painted on, she loved it. After she first came there with Natsu, she came back more often, sometimes even on her own to talk with the kids and read them more stories about the princess and the dragon.

The next memory was the one of when they first slept together. Natsu was very gentle with her, he treated her as if she was a fragile doll. He had kissed every parrt of her body, telling her how much he loved her after every single kiss.

Next memory, one of them together at the beach. She had buried him in the sand and was laughing her ass off, while Levy was threatening Gajeel with her famous fly swatter. She looked so happy back then, so carefree.

She wanted to be happy again.

She wanted to be carefree again.

She wanted to go back to every single one she loved.

She didn't want to be scared anymore. She didn't want to have to look over her shoulder, or think twice before she did something.

God damn it, she wanted to be free!

And free was what she was going to be.

"Lucy? Everything okay?" Sting asked, noticing her mood changed.

"Oh yes. I'm fine. In fact, I am going to do something I should have done a very long time ago."

Her eyes were cold, her whole body flowing with anger and determination.

He grinned at her.

"Let's confront this son of a bitch then."

She nodded at him.

"No more running away. Time to back to my old ways, and make this bastard regret everything he's ever taught me."

* * *

 _It was drizzling with rain. Her blonde hair was sticking to her body, and her tank top was becoming see through. Not that she cared. She had decided to finally leave that house, and trying to make it on her own. She didn't know how she was going to do it, but she would make it through somehow._

 _She was panting heavily. She wasn't used to running for so long. It was a good thing she hadn't packed her suitcase, if she did she could not run at all without looking as if she was a terrorist, leaving the scene of the crime. Last thing she wanted. All she had brought with her was her credit card, her ID, the clothes she was wearing, some cash, and some food. she wanted to bring more, but if she did it would be obvious she was going to run away._

 _She would have to buy some clothes, expecially after this. But for now, her first priority was finding a place where she could spend the night. Preferrably with a heater so she could wear these clothes again the next morning since she had no other clothes and wanted to leave the town before the shops were opening up the next day. Now she couldn't buy herself a pair of new clothes, considering she looked as if she got thrown into the river and no one would accept her into a shop._

 _She was shivering. The cold was finding a way do even soak her bones, and she sneezed. Once she had found a hotel, she would take a nice, long, warm shower, or maybe even a bath if it was possible. She shivered again, making her way through the town._

 _The street lights were shining brightly as she moved along the town. The shop signs were screaming, brightly lit and every single one of them had a special offer, or some sort of deal. At that, she snorted. Business. That was something she wanted nothing to do with, ever again. Her old life hadn't been that awful compared to what she was going to face, but she was only 16 and had no idea about the real world._

 _She didn't know that she was going to regret running away. She didn't know that she was going to meet him, and that he was going to make her life a living hell. She had no idea that he would ruin her for the rest of her life. And she didn't know that she wouldn't be free for over four years after today. All she knew right now was that she had to find a hotel or something._

 _As she made her way through the town, a pair of eyes were watching her._

 _"We need to have her," were words that were spoken. Smoke filled the room as the man spoke and the cigarette left his lips. His fingers were filled with all kind of rings, and his arms were very hairy. His hair was purple, with a pair of very thin eyebrows, and a long, thin mustache._

 _"Yes Master. Anything we need to do?" one of his servants asked._

 _He only moved his hand to his lips again, to take another drag from his cigarette. As he blew the smoke in the light of the street lamps, he closed his eyes._

 _"Now, that does a body good. And no, I will reel her in myself. We must proceed with care. I'd recognise this girl anywhere, she is worth a lot of money. If we play it right, she could easily make hundreds upon thousands for us! And if we really play our cards right, we could earn millions, something that would make us all very happy._

 _Since she is so valuable, we have to be careful now. She is probably scared, and a familiar face should help. Which is where I come in. In about a few minutes, I will walk up to her and offer her a place to stay. She will be grateful, and most likely ask what she could do to pay me back. Of course, I am going to let her serve first, before she will fully be of service. But we need to earn her trust in order for her to become fully committed to us._

 _Although I am not sure she will ever fully trust us, but that will be okay. After all, once she's in, there is no way out. Knowing her dear old daddy, she has finished her education and is planning to make a living for herself, then go to college._

 _We can help her with making a living, now can't we boys?"_

 _During his monologue, he kept smoking. The smoke was hanging heavy in the drizzling rain, bothering people more than they would let on._

 _She was still walking, searching, with no clue about what would happen to her._

 _That was when she saw him. Her eyes widened, and she gasped. Her hair was completely soaked, her clothes were see through and she looked absolutely miserable. Still, she managed to smile as she recognised the man that was standing at the other side of the street._

 _A familiar face! Without second thought, she ran towards him, crying out; "Master Jose!"_

 _He only smirked, before opening his arms and comforting the girl who was soaking wet with the drizzling rain._

 _"There, there. You will be okay, child. Now tell me, do you have a place to stay the night?"_

 _She sniffled, wiping away her tears. When she spoke, her voice was very soft._

 _"Speak up child, I can't hear you."_

 _"I don't," she then said, more tears shining in her eyes._

 _"Wipe away your tears, and come with me. You can stay with me and my boys tonight. Sound good?" he asked her, his smirk unnoticed by her._

 _"I would really appreciate that, Master Jose. But I don't know how to repay you for your kindness, and I don't have any kind of clothes other than the ones I am wearing right now," she confessed with her head down._

 _"That is no problem," he smirked, now noticed by her, as he continued; "you can work in our cafe, and our waiters are required to wair a uniform. We should still have a spare."_

 _She smiled up to him._

 _"Thank you so much, Master Jose. You truly are a kind man," she said._

 _"No problem at all child, no problem at all. Now come, we don't want you to get more soaked, now do we?"_

 _The pair then walked off, his smirk never falling and her smile never losing it brightness._

* * *

"How much longer until he wakes up?"

"I don't know. But he hasn't been here for that long, has he?"

 _A beeping sound. Voices chatting away, sounding a bit.. off if he really had to describe it. Was something wrong?_

"Oh look, he's moving. Maybe he's gonna wake up."

 _Who shoud wake up? This was confusing._

"I don't know how we should tell him, though. I mean, hasn't he been through enough? It would break his heart to tell him that there still is no sign of her. I don't want to be the one to break it to him."

 _No sign of who? Couldn't the owners of those voices be a bit more clear about who they were talking?_

"Don'cha worry yer little head about that, pipsqueak."

 _Worry? Why would someone be worried? Even weirder, how the hell could a pipsqueak talk? Do they even exist?_

"Juvia wishes they could find Lucy-san already." A sigh.

 _Lucy.. Now that name sounded familiar._

 _Memories._

 _A blonde girl, with brown eyes._

 _A cute giggle._

 _Flowing skirts._

 _Pretty._

 _Warm._

 _Love._

 _Lucy.._

 _Lucy._

 _Lucy!_

 _LUCY!_

"LUCY!"

"Oh, look who's awake. How you doing, Flame Ass?" Gray asked him.

"WHERE IS LUCY?" Natsu roared.

Well, so much for not wanting to tell him the bad news.

"Oh great, he's awake and that is the first thing he wants to know."

"Shut up, Gajeel-kun! How would you feel if it was Levy-san that had disappeared?" a young woman with blue hair and curves yelled out while she hit a rough looking man on his head with a pink umbrella.

"Aaargh! I get it woman! Now stop it!"

A small girl with lighter blue locks walked towards the bed.

"How are you feeling, Natsu?" she asked him, in a voice that was filled with concern for his well-being.

Now he felt like an ass.

"Sorry, that's how I am feeling. But what do you mean, no sign of her?" he demanded to know.

Gajeel and Gray sighed, before pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"Obviously she's done this before. So even if we go and look everywhere, which we did by the way, so there is really no need for you to yell or kick something, she can't be found. She didn't want us to help her, and ultimately, we'll have to respect that, no matter how much we all hate it," Gray explained.

"I even had Juvia here lookin' around, usin' her techniques from the good ol' days, but she ain't finding shit. No one's seen her, or someone that looks like her," Gajeel continued with a rough voice.

Natsu looked around confused. "Good ol' days?" he asked, not sure if the subject was sensitive or not.

Juvia sighed, before walking over to him.

"Juvia used to live on the streets, before she was found. She then became part of a gang, together with Gajeel-kun. Juvia was the one who snooped around, finding information that wasn't supposed to found, and she also used to-" Juvia stopped mid-sentence.

She hit Gajeel on his arm, who responded with a; "What in the fuckin' hell?"

"Gajeel-kun! Don't you remember? Around four years ago? When it was drizzling with rain? Jose walked in with a blonde girl, remember?" she said fast.

Gajeel's frown deepened as he was thinking, before yelling out; "GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!"

"What?" everyone asked, confused.

"Juvia will explain to you. As she said, she used to live on the streets until she found Jose. Now, Jose is not a very good man. Back in those days he was the king of the underworld, and he also had a bar named Phantom Lord. But the tricky part is that it wasn't just a bar. Yes, it seemed like just that, but it was a cover for a sex-club. And around four years ago, he brought in a new girl, and he couldn't stop smirking. This girl was a blonde one, and she looked a lot like our Lucy," Juvia said.

It was silent for several minutes.

"WELL THEN WHAT ARE WE FUCKING WAITING FOR?" Natsu roared. He yanked the IV's out of his arm.

"Natsu.. What are you doing?" Levy asked with a small voice.

"I'm going to save Luce! Now, let's run! Before the nurses come and pin me down again!" He jumped out of the window in his hospital gown and ran like a mad men.

Juvia looked at Gajeel.

"Maybe she shouldn't have told Natsu-san that."

Before Gajeel could respond, Gray softly kissed her lips. "It was the right thing to do Juvia. Now we know where she most likely is, or at least from who she is running. We can't make this man disappear, but we can slow him down in his hunt. You and Gajeel know a lot about him, which will be useful in our search." Then in a much softer voice; "You did good, Juvia."

Juvia passed out, hearts circling around her head.

"OH COME ON!"

 **A/N**

 **I'm just gonna blabber away here.**

 **I'm sorry about the ending(actually, I'm not), but it seemed like the right place. Next chapter we're gonna learn the rest about what exactly happened with Lucy and Jose! Also, I'm surprised no one guessed it was him. Bummer, you guys.**

 **I'd also like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favourited, or followed! Thank you all so much! Really, reading the reviews or seeing how many follows this story now has makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I love the feeling when people appreciate what you do, and I'm surpirsed over 180 people want to read the weird things I write.**

 **AND HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS LAST NIGHT I WENT TO HALESTORM AN I FUCKING LOVED IT IT WAS SO FUCKING AMAZING! I got thrown into the mosh pit(btw I am skinny, not strong and also tiny) a lot, and it was FUCKING AWESOME but now I am filled with bruises. Like, really, I am hurting all over my body. I also sat on the shoulders of my best friend when they played my favourite song and I swear to you, Lzzy looked me right in the eyes and smiled at me. Also, there was a guy in a wheelchair. I swear I love the Halestorm fans, because who else makes it happen that a guy in a wheelchair gets to crowd surf?! That's right, we do. Also, Arejay(drummer) went crowdsurfing and I managed to bite him. Whoops.**

 **Okay, fangirl is shutting up.**

 **Thanks for reading, and if you have time, please follow, favourite and review!**

 **Bye bye ~**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N**

 **Oh, hello 5k chapter. Where did you come from?**

 **Okay, I'll explain. I have fallen ill(yup, your almighty and awesome senpai is ill. Great, isn't it?) and so I had a lot of time and used it to write you all another chapter.**

 **Hope you all enjoy this one!**

 **Also, I'd like to point out that no, this is not going to be _anything_ like the Phantom Lord arc. Whereas I really enjoyed that arc, this couldn't possibly match that one. I mean, gajeel and Juvia have already appeared, didn't they? Would be weird xD **

**Enjoy this one, it explains Lucy's past!**

 _"Welcome, Lucy, to your new home," Jose said with a smile._

 _After she had agreed to come along, they quickly made their way through town and into his bar. He offered her a room where she could stay until her shift would start, and she would be able to take a shower. After she was done with her shower, he said he'd have her clothes on her bed, ready for her to be worn._

 _Lucy was still shivering from being out in the cold for so long, but she was also grateful. She truly couldn't believe her luck. Just when everything seemed to be lost and going downhill, she was saved by someone. She then shook her head. No, not just someone. Someone she knew very well, someone who used to be a business partner of her dad!_

 _She clasped her hand in front of her mouth. How could she have forgotten? This man used to work with her dad! He could have her crawling back to him in absolutely no time! Stupid Lucy, stupid!_

 _She threw the door from her room open and ran downstairs, to meet Master Jose. he met her, surprise not visible in his facial expression._

 _Completely out of breath, she managed to get out some words._

 _"Must not.. He will kill me.. Please Master Jose.. Don't tell.." were the words she spoke, panting heavily. Jose placed his hand on her back, meant to be a reassuring gesture. Then he smiled at her, the smile that would be hunting her nightmares for years, after she saw him smile like that after the first time.._

 _But now, she didn't know and she hesitantly smiled back at him._

 _"Why don't you catch your breath, child? After that, you can tell me what's so important." Then he turned around, as he spotted a familiar head of blue standing in the corner._

 _"Oh, my lovely Ame-Onna. How's it going, dear?" he asked her, using big gestures and putting his arm around her shoulders._

 _She only shrugged the arm off, eyes cold and emotionless, as she spoke; "Everything is fine, Master Jose. Juvia does not have any information that Master Jose don't know already, but she did learn that the heir of the Heartfilia family ran away. However, since you already have her here, Juvia assumes Master Jose must have found her first and took her in. Is Juvia wrong?"_

 _Even her voice was drained from all emotion. Whereas Jose started laughing, her face remained untouched._

 _"Right, as always!" he laughed, then continued; "I truly made the best decision ever to bring you here! Who knew that you, a scared and trembling girl, would fight her way up the ranks and become Ame-Onna, a name that scares everyone in their right minds?"_

 _Juvia didn't flinch. She simply nodded her head, before turning around on her heel._

 _"Juvia!" he called out after her._

 _Once again, she turned around, her blue locks swiftly falling over her shoulder._

 _"Yes, Master Jose?"_

 _He grinned. "Do not let her see you. Understood?"_

 _"Yes. Juvia understands." With that, she walked out of the room._

 _Jose then returned to Lucy, who had regained her breath and currently had huge eyes, and looked scared._

 _"What is it? Speak," he ordered._

 _Nearly immediately, tears sprung from her eyes as she took a deep, shaky breath and started talking, or better said, rambling._

 _"Please, Master Jose, do not inform my father of my recent activity. I'd rather not be found again and froced into a life I do not intend to live. So.. So.." Her formalities fell, and she allowed a few tears to roll down her cheeks as she thought about her old life._

 _She looked up to him with surprise written all over her face when he cupped her jaw and looked her straight into the eye._

 _"Is that all you have to say to me?"_

 _Lucy had been scared a couple of times in her life. She was scared when her dad first hit her and she couldn't walk around for days. She was scared when Loke decided he was going to teach her self-defense, to make sure she could hold her own against her dad, were he to go berserk again. She was scared when her mother had died and no one had an answer as for where she had went._

 _But she never knew fear could be crawling down your spine. She never knew it could make your breath become stuck in your throat, or make your legs tremble at the mere thought of what could happen. She never imagined feeling this much fear, and gratitude at the same time._

 _He continued to look down her eyes, seeing the fight disappear. Master Jose then smirked. Seemed like his little intimidation trick ad worked._

 _She sounded like a robot when she said, "No Master Jose. I would like to express my gratitude towards you." Her eyes were cold, again. "I am sorry for causing this ruckus. I shall now take a shower and come down for work in thirty minutes. Do you have any requests regarding my looks for the night?"_

 _The men sitting in the bar turned around, listening. Such a cute new girl, starting to work here? Sounded like they might actually have a chance with her, although most of them never pegged her for the type of girl that would sell her body._

 _Jose merely smirked._

 _"Wear make ups, dear Lucy. And tie your hair up, things tend to get.. messy around here, you see?"_

 _"Yes, Master Jose." She turned around, walking upstairs and into her room, shivering all over._

 _'No Lucy, you are not going to have a mental breakdown at the very first night that you are not at home!' she mentally scolded herself, before taking off what remained from her clothes. For now, she would lay them on the heater and pray they'd be dry by the time the next morning rised._

 _Lucy was still shivering from the fear she felt in her entire body when she walked into the bathroom. Absentminded she noticed the big mirror right behind the sink, and some drawers that were filled with lots of things she didn't feel like viewing right now. Still, her curiousity got the best of her and she opened one drawer._

 _Inside it lay lots of small wrappers, in all kind of sizes. Next to it lay a lot of tubes, with different designs, colours, and smells. One said 'For an unforgettable experience. Makes you never look the same way at strawberries!'_

 _In her tired and scared mind she didn't register that the drawers were filled with condoms and lube. All she wanted was to take the shower, and wash off the stress and fear. She must have had imagined the look Jose gave her, or misinterpretted the look. She shook her head, took her underwear off and stepped into the shower._

 _As she allowed the warm water to soothe her muscles and rinse through her hair, she couldn't help but feel grateful towards Jose. He also could have let her out there to rot, or call upon her father and have him pick her up._

 _Softly, she began to sob. Her old life was truly over, she would start a new one. Filled with happiness. She could work here, make some money and save it so that she could move out one day, and she had a roof above her head. It wasn't so bad here, she told herself over and over again._

 _Eventually, she turned off the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack. She thoroughly dried her body, before blow drying her hair and putting back on her underwear. Then, she walked towards her bed and grabbed the clothes lying on it._

 _It was a very.. provoking outfit. A skirt, barely covering her ass, made of a smooth and silky fabric sparkling at every single movement. The top was no better. The one she was holding was a deep purple, with some gold outlines, and it looked as if it would stop at her midriff, leaving her belly exposed. Other than the top and skirt, there also were a pair of matching purple stockings, with a black garterbelt and some jewelry. A choker, purple and gold. A bracelet, black. And some thing that she thought was supposed to go at her upper arm._

 _After she had managed to take the clothes on, she couldn't help but feel extremely embarrassed. If her dad could see her in her current outfit, he would kick her out immediately. She chuckled to herself. If she did, she didn't have to go through the trouble of running away._

 _Lucy then took another deep breath, before brushing her hair through and then putting it up in a messy bun at the back of her head. With a final sigh, she grabbed the heels that Jose had provided for her._

 _Her last thought was, 'How bad could this really be?'_

 **##**

 _She was wrong. She was oh so wrong. This was terrible._

 _Her arms were hurting from all the lifting and serving drinks, not to mention the amount of dirty looks she had received in the last three months she had worked for Jose. Not to mention the bruises she had from bumping into customers and her fellow waitresses._

 _When her first shift had started, she had quickly realised that every girl wore the same outfit, the only difference being the colours they wore. A girl who went by the name of Lana wore the same outfit in a lovely baby blue with silver outlines, another girl named Annabella wore the outfit in red, and another girl who's name changed more often that the drinks they served wore in in black._

 _Now Lucy was busy filling out drinks on her tray when she saw Jose from the corner of her eye, requesting her to come towards him. She quickly served her tray, before walking up to him._

 _"Good evening Master. It is an honour to see you here again. What can I get you?" she asked him._

 _He only smiled._

 _"I'd like for you to sit with me for a while." He had made his request, daring her to against him._

 _"I don't know if that is possible, sir. I mean, tonight seems more busy than a usual night, and it's only 8 pm!" she laughed nervously, before looking at his face to make sure she didn't go to far._

 _"Do not worry about the bar, girl. Lana has it handled. Now sit. We need to talk."_

 _His tone sent shivers down her spine. Of course, ever since she first started working here, she had learned that when Jose wanted to talk, you did not protest at all costs. Didn't matter about what. You did not protest if you valued everything that was dear to you._

 _After the first month, Jose was still gentle with her. He didn't treat her like a fragile princess, but he also wasn't afraid to speak with his fists. He usually did this to other girls when Lucy was close, to make sure she got the message._

 _After witnessing it for the first time, she quickly ran over to the girl he hit after he had left._

 _"Are you alright?" were the first words she spoke to the girl, ever. The other girl only laughed._

 _"Better get used to it, pretty one. He does this every time one of us doesn't bring in enough money." She then rasped, before asking, "Hey, d'you wanna come outside with me for a second? We are allowed to have a break now, and I'd like to have a cigarette."_

 _Another thing Lucy had learned quickly. Nearly everyone in the bar was a smoker. She had tried to hold it off, but after tonight she felt like she also needed to have one. Before she was able to stop herself, she asked, "Hey.. Do you happen to have another one for me?"_

 _The girl looked at Lucy, before chuckling. "Whatever, pretty one. Knock yourself out, and be careful not to cough too much and end up barfing your brains out. I'd rather not clean up your mess."_

 _They then stood up, Lucy shaking because of the beating she had just witnessed and the girl because of the beating she had just received._

 _When they were outside, the girl handed Lucy a cigarette and her lighter._

 _"Thanks," Lucy said, before lighting her cigarette. Almost immediately she started to cough, but she pushed through it._

 _The other girl only studied her, before grinning._

 _"Never knew you had in in you, pretty one! Name's Lana, by the way," she said and then lit her own cigarette._

 _"Lucy," Lucy said, taking another drag._

 _After the second month, he also started to hit Lucy when she didn't do what she was expected to do. He would get mad at her, for not flirting enough with the customers, for flirting too much with the customers, for wearing too revealing clothes, for revealing too little.._

 _It didn't matter what she did, he would find a reason to beat her up._

 _After the first time, she had screamed and cried so much that the next day she couldn't speak, which earned her the second beating._

 _After the fifth time, she only shed a few tears._

 _And now, she didn't care anymore._

 _But her little tradition with Lana stayed. Whenever one of them had received a beating, the two of them would go outside a couple of minutes later and smoke a cigarette together. Sometimes in comfortable silence, other times chatting away about clothes, make up and jewelry._

 _And now, she only prayed he wasn't going to actually kill her._

 _Of course, she could ran away. But then again, it wasn't like she hadn't tried doing that before and they always caught her. Maybe, just maybe, if she kept running away, he would lower his guard and one day, she could truly run away and become free. And besides, where could she go?_

 _This rotten place, this stinking, scaring, awful place was the only place she could return home to._

 _Hesitantly she sat down._

 _"Lucy.. You have been here for three months now," he began his little speech, studying her face. "And of course, since you stayed here, it is time for you to officially become a member of our little.. crew. You obviously wonder why we gave you those bracelets."_

 _Truth be told, Lucy couldn't care less about those bracelets, but she had learned that letting him talk and not bursting his bubble of thinking he was a genius was the best way to deal with his crazy ass. So she nodded._

 _"Very well, I will tell you."_

 _She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Didn't he plan on telling her anyway?_

 _"It is meant to cover up that tattoo of yours. The one indicating your soulmate. You see, here, we are not just a bar. No no no, we also offer love for those that cannot find their soulmate, despite their tattoos, or have lost their soulmate, or those who need some time away from their wives."_

 _Lucy couldn't say she was surprised. She could say that she could feel her own stomach turn around._

 _"It is time for you to join. The reason it is so busy in here, is because word has gotten out that we have a new girl here. That girl just happens to be you," he ended his little speech._

 _Lucy wasn't even surprised anymore. She just closed off her emotions and went along with it._

 _"I suppose this means I get a change of colour?" she asked. It was now her common knowledge that the colour purple was worn by girls who soon would become a true worker at the bar, but wasn't one yet._

 _He chuckled._

 _"My my, what a smart girl. Yes, you will change colours. Your new colour is going to be white, as pure as your body is. Your first customer is already waiting for you, so why don't you quickly change and meet him in your room?"_

 _He tossed her her new clothes, and then dismissed her._

 _Lucy got also up. As she walked past the bar, she could feel Lana's eyes staring at her. The unspoken question was one she answered with a soft smile._

 _Lana then left the bar._

 _"Lana! Stay at the bar!" Lucy hissed through her teeth at the girl. She didn't want her friend to get in trouble._

 _Lana only rolled her eyes. "Chill, pretty one. I am allowed to take breaks whenever I see fit, and now seems like a great time. Plus, you look like you need me now. Let's go outside, I got something for you."_

 _She then walked out, Lucy following her with her package secured tightly to her chest._

 _As the door slammed shut, Lana grabbed a new pack of cigarettes and threw them at Lucy._

 _Lucy only looked at her._

 _"They're click cigarettes, they have a menthol capsule that you can 'click'. The customers prefer those over regular cigs, and since this is your first time I figured you'd like it."_

 _"WHAT! There were menthol flavoured cigarettes all this time, and you never told me? Ugh! If I knew, I never would have to go through the awful taste with my first!" Lucy rambled, not truly angry at her friend who just laughed and shrugged it off._

 _She then opened the pack and threw one at Lana._

 _After a couple minutes of silence, Lana spoke again._

 _"So, what colour are you getting?"_

 _Lucy snorted. "He gave me white. Can you believe it?"_

 _At that, Lana acually laughed. "White? At a place like this? Wow, he really wants you to only become a hooker then," she said, taking another drag._

 _"Yeah, I guess," Lucy said, blowing out a puff of smoke._

 _Silence again._

 _Just before Lana was about to throw away her cigarette bud, she spoke again._

 _"You got this, pretty one. I believe in you."_

 _And she threw Lucy another thing. Before Lucy could answer, Lana had disappeared._

 _With shaking hands, Lucy opened whatever it was Lana had thrown her._

 _Her eyes started to water at the sight._

 _Lana had given her a chance at another life, giving her a fake ID, cash and an escape route._

 _The only way she could repay Lana was by taking her offer, she thought._

 _Lucy quickly finished her cigarette, then throwing it out and changing clothes._

 _She would stay for maybe another month or two, to make sure Jose wouldn't have reason to hit Lana or think that Lucy had left so soon. Besides, she might have had the escape route, but she still needed a plan._

 _Still, she could feel a grin forming around her mouth._

 _She was going to get out of this hell._

 **##**

 _"Very good, Lucy. I am glad to see you have made this kind of progress with your training! If your keep it up, you might even be able to defeat me."_

 _Lucy was panting heavily, but still with a smile as she just finished her fight against another one of the girls. She had been with Jose for nearly seven months now, and she had been training in their gym for nearly six months._

 _They had taught her the basics of fighting within under a month and were now teaching her how to fight, street style. Lucy could already throw a punch, but she still lacked strength and muscle, so she started training more and more when she didn't have to 'work'._

 _All girls at Jose's place knew self-defense, and those that wanted to could get extra training, if they had the time and endurance that it required._

 _Meanwhile, Juvia was watching her train from a distance. Since when had the girl Jose had taken in nearly seven months ago learnt to fight like that? Sure, she lacked muscle and stealth, but she was strong. And she sure as hell could kick. The girl had taken out nearly all of her opponents with that kick of hers, and that was seriously very impressive._

 _A rough voice interrupted her train of thought._

 _"Thinkin' back of yer first here, ain't ya?"_

 _"Gajeel-kun!"_

 _She threw her arms around the rough looking boy, who only mumbled a, "Yeah, yeah, whatever," but did hug her back._

 _"How is Gajeel-kun doing?" Juvia asked him with sincere interest._

 _He only scoffed. "Weaklings. Weren't even worth the beating I gave 'em, not to mention none of 'em could fight back." His eyes were nearly as cold as hers, also drained from all emotion._

 _"Juvia is not surprised. After all, Gajeel-kun is one of the strongest around her. She truly doesn't understand why Gajeel-kun wants to stay here, considering he doesn't go to school but is great with his hands," she said._

 _He scoffed again. "The hell should I do in a school? 'Sides, when I'm here, I can fight as much as I like, and no one's tellin' me what I can and can't do. Ain't gonna change that anytime soon, woman. Plus, Jose pays pretty good for a lunatic," he said with a rough voice, displaying no affection or whatsoever for the man that took him in when he was seven._

 _"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia scolded him. "Not nice. Juvia also likes not having to hold back, but she doesn't only stay because of the pay check. She mostly stays because Gajeel-kun is here."_

 _Somehow in the years that have went by ever since the two of them had met, they had somehow formed some kind of friendship. Jose knew about them being friends, and he tolerated it because Juvia and Gajeel worked great together._

 _"Oye, Juvia?"_

 _"Yes, Gajeel-kun?"_

 _"Where the hell did that blonde girl go that ya were watchin' a couple a' minutes ago?"_

 _Indeed, Lucy had left the scene._

 _Juvia only shrugged in the shadows. "Probably went to her room to change."_

 _She was not wrong._

 _Lucy indeed went to her room to change, but not into her working clothes._

 _She had planned her escape for nearly five months now, running away every two to three weeks being a part of it. She had her fake ID in her bra, and the cash was in her left shoe._

 _As soon as she had left the town she would go to the bank and open an account._

 _She then took the small box that she had ever since she first started working for Jose. Call it a voice in the back of her head, but something told her she should keep some of the money she earned. She had answered the voice by keeping most of her tips._

 _And when she had her first official client - she still had nightmares- she had kept a bit of that money too. Now that box held just little under 20,000 jewel. Enough to get her a train ticket and a change of clothes._

 _Jose would stop by once every two weeks to collect the money his girls had made. It had been nearly two weeks now, and the can she used to keep the money in was filled to the brink with knispering bills._

 _Lucy took a deep breath, before taking off the clothes she was wearing when sparring. She then grabbed the small box of hair dye and threw the stuff into her hair._

 _She hummed to herself as she waited. She would find a nice place for herself to stay, and she would be careful not to be caught by Jose, ever again._

 _She would change ID's every now and then. Not to mention moving around a lot, and changing bank accounts._

 _As the time was up, she jumped underneath the shower and began to rinse through her now brown locks. She nearly started to cry when she saw it, but she took some deep breaths and promised herself she would no longer cry. That time was over._

 _Now, she needed to be strong._

 _After she was done, she quickly slipped on her jeans that she'd worn all those months ago when she first got here. Might as well leave in them. She checked her watch. Perfect. The bar wouldn't open for another three and a half hour, giving her plenty of time to get far, far away._

 _Maybe even get on a plane and go to the other side of the country. She collected her belongings, considering of the fake ID Lana had gotten her, her cash, her credit card and her phone. She grinned. Time to leave._

 _She then opened her window, looked up, down, and sidewards, before jumping out of the window._

 _Lucy made no sound as she landed on her feet, and immediately began to run towards the nearest train station._

 _While she was running, she had never felt so good. She was out of that place._

 _No more embarrassing outfits. No more selling herself. No more Jose. No more beatings. No more creepy guys, drooling over her body. No more shackles holding her down as she was going to live her life._

 _Maybe she could even go to college._

 **##**

"Ready Luce?" Sting asked her, concerned.

She took a deep breath as she stood in front of the one place she would never return to.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess. Lucky the bar's still open, with all the shady things going on there." She laughed half-heartedly to herself.

"I wonder if Lana's still there," she then mumbled to herself.

Sting's eyes widened a little when he heard the name Lana. "You mean the girl that helped you escape?" he asked her. Lucy barely talked about her past, and the fact that she just said something like that proved how thrown off she truly was by this whole ordeal.

Lucy only nodded.

"I never got the chance to really thank her, not to mention I let her rot away her for several years. I wonder if she even remembers me.." Lucy said, wiping away some tears that started to form at her eyes.

"I guess we should just find out, shouldn't we?" he said, grinning. She laughed at him.

"You're right, let's do this."

With another deep breath, she opened the door.

The smell was the first thing she noticed. It smelled even worse than she remembered. Back in her days, it smelled only of beer and cigarettes. Now, it smelled of those two, combined with the awful smell of weed and vodka. It made her want to turn around immediately and vomit.

"You okay," Sting asked.

Lucy only nodded, before walking up to the bar. Everything still looked as it did in her memory. As she walked around, she smiled to herself sometimes. Here was the first time she had gotten a really big tip, without having to flirt.

And there was the first time a customer wanted her to sit with him without any kind of creepy interest. Oh, and over there was where she had gotten drunk for the very first time in her entire life and ended up dancing on the tables together with Lana as men showered them in money. Jose only didn't get extremely mad because their little act had brought in a lot of money for the bar.

Oh, and their was the door that she used to many times to go on a smoke break.

Lucy then got a daring grin around her lips.

"Sting, why don't you go and sit at the bar, maybe even order something to drink?" she suggested. Sting turned around, surprised.

"Uuh, but where will you go then Lucy?" he asked confused, scratching his head as he looked around the rotten place.

She only grinned wider.

"I think I'm gonna see an old friend."

Before Sting could protest, she had already opened the door and swung it close with such force the entire building trembled.

"Stupid girl," Sting mumbled. "Makes me go through all this trouble of worrying about her, not to mention every single fucking other thing, only to close a door into my fucking face and telling me to 'order a drink'. What the HELL am I supposed to do with such a troublemaker?" He threw his hands up in the air in desperation.

When no answer came, he sighed heavily. "I guess I'll follow her suggestion and order something."

Meanwhile, Lucy was standing outside, looking at a place she hadn't seen in years.

She smiled to herself when she spotted a familiar outfit. The girl was smoking, as Lucy had expected her to do. After all, old habits die hard. Especially when it was one like this.

Slowly, without making a sound, she walked over to the girl, before tapping her back.

"Do you happen to have another one for me?" Lucy asked with a huge grin.

The other girl turned around, eyes widening in surprise.

"Pretty one! What are you doing here?" Lana cried out, hugging the girl close to her chest. "I thought I would never see you again in this shithole!" she said, taking a drag from her cigarette and throwing Lucy another one.

"Oh, I'm only here to pay someone back for three years of torture and seven months or pure hell," Lucy grinned, before lighting her cigarette.

 **A/N**

 **WHOOHOO I AM ON A ROLL WITH THESE CHAPTERS.**

 **And proud of myself for writing another one within two days after I published chapter 15. Let's not mention I didn't update for nearly a month, okay? Thanks you lovelies. Means a lot to your good ol' senpai, who's currently dying in her bed with a lot of tea, a soar throat and a pounding headache.**

 **Luckily, my weekend has begun(my classes I should have tomorrow, aka Friday, are cancelled. PRAISE OUR LORD)**

 **Another thing I'd like to say is that English is NOT my first language, so please forgive me if I use a word weirdly or anything, or if I misspelled one. I swear that the misspelling is not on purpose.**

 **Also, a reviewer asked me about my age. First of all, thank you for reviewing! Secondly, I am currently 17, but I will be turning 18 within less than two months *throws confetti and glitter***

 **As usual, thank you for reading, and don't forget to follow, favourite and/or review!**

 **See you lovelies next time!**

 **Bye bye ~**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N**

 **Ok.. I am truly, very, highly ashamed of myself that it took me so long. In my defense, school has been crazy.**

 **My final exams are starting this Friday and I have been so BUSY. Also, I've turned 18 somewhere last month and I also somehow got a boyfriend so yea let's say I have been busy.**

 **For now, enjoy! The final chapter of 'Art of the Soul' is finally here!**

She slowly inhaled the smoke, and let out a content sigh as the killing gas filled her lungs.

"Gods, I really have missed smoking," Lucy admitted with a sheepish grin to Lana, who looked back at her.

"So.. What actually became of you, after I told you to run for it?" she asked, smoke escaping in small clouds as she spoke. The sun was lazily hanging in the sky, and some birds were chirping to the converstaion the two girls held.

Lucy's brows furrowed as she thought about how to answer that question truthfully. "Well..." she began doubtfully, "for starters, I have found my soulmate."

"NO WAY!" Lana screeched and hugged the blondine with so much force that Lucy actually stumbled backwards. Lana let go of Lucy and looked at her with happy tears in her eyes. "I'm so happy for you, pretty one." Lana's voice was shaking a bit, but other than that she was fine.

Lucy only smiled at her. "I did.. But I had to go back and face this one final demon that's still left on my past before I can truly move on. First, I actually wanted to run for it once he found me again, but after that I thought about my life. The life that I had built for myself, the real friends I had made and the love that I found. So this bastard has hell to pay." Her eyes turned hard as she said her next line; "I'm prepared to kill, if it turns out to be what needs to be done."

Lana looked to the younger girl, who was so determined. Lucy had truly grown since the last time she had seen her, in every way of the word. She had become taller, became even more beautiful and was practically glowing. But she also gave off this extremely badass vibe, that sent shivers down at Lana's spine.

Lucy felt the other girl's worry, and she lifted her head to smile reassuringly at her best friend from an old life.

"Don't worry Lana, I'll get you out of this shithole. That, I promise you."

"Pinky promise?" Lana asked smugly. Lucy only spit on her hand, before shaking hands with her.

"You can bet your pretty little ass on it."

The two girls then took a drag from their cigarettes, enjoying each other's company and cathcing up on lost time. It was only until Lana mentioned a blue haired woman that left shortly after Lucy that Lucy made the connection.

"Hang on, Lana. What did you say her name was, again?" Lana looked at Lucy, who was now visibly shaking.

"I think it was Juvo, or Juli or something like that. A pretty weird name, not a very common one if you ask me," she said with a shrug of her shoulders but with concern in her eyes. "Why?"

"Because I know her," Lucy whispered.

All the times when she thought she was standing alone, all the times when she felt like it was her pain and that she had no one to share it with. But now it turned out Juvia also had a past with Jose. And if Juvia did, then Gajeel probably did too. How horrible it must have been for them. Lucy knew about the special forces Jose had, but she never knew Juvia had been one of them.

Looking back, Lucy fully understood the protectiveness that Juvia had when it came to Gray. After all, if you had worked for a sick bastard like Jose and knew what would become of a girl that was there, it was basic math. Of course Juvia wanted Gray to be only hers, because she grew up in a shady world, filled with lustful, greedy man. Of course.

Lucy felt her determination grow. It was no longer herself that she had to fight for. It was also Juvia's and Gajeel's happiness that she now was fighting for, together with Lana's happiness.

WHAM!

Lana let out a shriek and immediately blushed a deep shade of red from embarrassment when Sting decided to finally also step outside and slammed the door shut.

"Wow Princess, this place sure as hell is sketchy. I can totally understand why you'd wanna get away from here. And the pictures I have seen from Jose- well let's say that I can never peacefully sleep again. Holy cows on a stick with salt and pepper, that guy is creepy as fu- Hey, who are you?"

Lucy could only smack herself on her forehead as Sting finally noticed Lana standing there, the blush still evident on her face.

"Hey there, gorgeous. Is that blush always on your face or is it just because of you finally seeing a truly beautiful man that was sent down the earth from the heavens- OUCH GOD DAMNIT!" Sting bended over as Lana had kicked him in the stomach while yelling; "Keep those lame ass pick up lines to yourself, you pervert!"

"Touchy much.." Sting muttered, still recovering from the blow she gave him. "You sure as hell have one helluva kick girl, even worse than Lucy's.. Damn, why are all the woman I know so godforsaken dangerous? I thought you were a lovely girl that needed a pick me up, but obviously you needed to kick me down.. I am pretty sure it's gonna bruise.." He was laying on the ground, whining on and on about how he would now have a bruise on his usually o so perfect body with perfect abs and how he was a shame to all the man that he even couldn't handle a kick.

Lana had an amused look on her face as he complained on and on about how sad and butthurt he felt. She felt her pride grow as he complained about the force behind her kick and she smirked as she said; "Well who d'ya think taught pretty one over here to kick? When she first came here she couldn't even open a can, let alone kick someone properly."

"Oh, great," Lucy groaned. "While you're at it, don't forget to tell all the stories about how I tripped and dropped an expensive bottle of champagne on Jose's head, would you? Oh and why not explain all about why the hell I always wear combat boots now because those crappy ass heels were modified to make sure we couldn't actually do any damage with them, huh?"

"Wait, it was you that dropped that bottle on his head? Oh man, this is great. Did you know he still has a bald spot there, even after all those years? That's why he now wears a hat. Says the acid in it burned away his hair and it just never grew back on. And since he said there was acid in it, it's probably a good thing you spilled it instead of serving it," Lana shrugged as she opened the door.

"Jose should be back anytime soon, ya sure you're ready? Oh, and pretty boy, you sure have a nice tattoo there. Shame Jose burned mine off so I only have a vague memory of what it looked like, but judging from the outlines I'd say it's the same one." She slammed the door shut, leaving Lucy and Sting with a heavy silence.

He blinked a couple of times, before yelling out; "WHAT?" He jumped up, grabbed Lucy's shoulders and started to shake her. "Did you hear that? She says our tattoos match! This is the best day ever!"

Lucy sent him a death glare that made him shrink in his seat.

"Whoops, sorry Princess."

 **##**

The doors were opened and carefully closed as a cloaked figure entered his bar. A sigh made the moustache fly all around his creepy face as he let himself fall in a chair. He snapped his fingers, and Lana showed up almost immediately.

"You," the man said in an authorative voice. "Bring me a drink. I need one, after such a long and tiring day."

Lana nodded and turned on her heel, going to the bar.

"Don't forget it, the strongest whiskey we have!" he yelled after her. She flinched, but went on her way.

"Truly, what a day," he muttered to himself, playing with one of the rings he wore. "I can't believe that she got away from me, again! I just don't understand how she can do such a thing, to someone who helped her, even offered her a very well paying job!" He cackled, his face twisted in a sick and disgusting manner. Then he adjusted himself, and swung his legs on the table. "But really, who the hell does she think she is? Ugh." He continued his complaining about the girl, never missing a beat.

"I know right," a voice butted in. Jose's head jumped up, as if he was a wolf that smelled his prey. His dark eyes narrowed as he studied the unknown man with care. A voice in the back of his head warned him, saying that he should be careful around this man. But at the same time, another voice told him that this man knew who he was and that playing dumb had no reason at all. A smirk made his way onto his face. If he played it smart, he could make a lot out of this.

The newcomer was a young, tall man with blond spikey hair and blue eyes that shone very bright, even in the dimly lit room. He gave off a very relaxed vibe, that put Jose at unease.

The unknown man sat down in a chair across from where Jose was seated and also layed his feet onto the table. "Hey! Girl!" he yelled.

Jose liked the man already. "She actually has a name, you know," he said with a hint of cruelty in his voice.

Sting only laughed at that. "Oh trust me, I know that. But why should I use her name? It makes her feel as if she's actually worth something for this company, whereas she could easily be replaced. And I don't want to feed that ego of hers, because if I do, bad things could happen." He shrugged. "And I'm guessing you don't want that, after all the trouble you went through."

"Just what are you playing at, boy? You want to join the big boys?" Jose asked, annoyed.

Sting lifted his hands in the air, as if excusing him for his behaviour. "I merely noticed you seem very tired, and a man like you can only get tired when trouble arises." He looked Jose straight in the eye, not backing down.

"Oye! Girl! Give me the same thing he's getting!" Sting yelled again when she came into his sight. She nodded, and grabbed another glass, pouring the strongest and most excellent whiskey there was into his glass.

She made her way over to their table, placing the glasses on the table and nodded her head when she placed one.

"Lana," Jose hissed. "Why did it take you so _fucking_ long to pour me this glass?" He took a sip, before spitting it out in her face. The golden liquid dripped down her face, but she didn't even bat an eye. "And why does it taste like shit? Can't you ever do _anything_ right, you little shit?" The anger in his voice grew with every single word he spoke, until decided to stand up.

Lana hung her head, knowing what was coming now.

He rose above her, taking out all the anger inside of him on her verbally.

" _YOU!_ I seriously _despise_ you! You are a fucking bitch, that can never do anything right! And yet you wonder why you're here, why I made you work as a hooker in here. Well let me fucking tell you why! It's because your parents owned me a debt, and they couldn't pay up! So they gave me _you_ , you were to pay for them! But I wish I could have left you alone, rotting on the streets and you would do crack and heroine to escape the pain. I have done all I can for you, I even gave you the common customers so you knew who would come for your services, and you _dare_ to repay me with, with THIS?"

He raised his hand and smacked her on the face. And again. And again. Her face was already red, but she did not cry. Sting only sat there, an amused smirk on his face.

Jose planted his fist in her stomach, and she bended over, gasping for air. He used this oppurtunity to kick her spine, and she fell to the ground. He continued kicking her, yelling and screaming.

"I will never understand how trash like you can be popular in my bar! I fucking should have killed you like I killed your parents! I should have let you rot on the streets! I should have made you suffer, beg for mercy! I never should have allowed you to meet that Lucy girl! I should have done all I could to make you hate her! I should have made you be the one to tell her her father is now dead! When you see here again, tell her his screams were music to my ears." His face twisted, hysteria was showing everywhere and his whole body pulsated with darkness.

As he wanted to slap her again, a strong arm grabbed his wrist.

"You did fucking _what_ to my father?" she said, voice rasped.

Jose only laughed. "You heard me, Lana love."

She yelled out, a deep cry that came from deep inside her as she yanked off the wig she was wearing.

"Guess what, sunshine? I ain't Lana," she gritted through her teeth, before kicking him in his stomach.

Jose's eyes widened in a fear he had never known as Lucy got up, anger radiating off her. "And now, pumpkin pie, sugar bear, whatever kind of disgusting name you like the girls here to tell you, you are going _down_."

She then reached into her cleavage, taking out a tyrip and quickly binding his hands together. She kicked his feet away from him and the man from her nightmares fell on the ground. She reached into her cleavage again, taking out another tyrip and binding his feel together.

"Sting! A little bit of help over here, please?" Sting only shook his head, tears of laughter coming out of his eyes.

"Sure thing Princess. Just let me say some things to this pathetic excuse for a man here."

Lucy sighed.

"Okay okay, but make it quick. Knowing him, he's got a knife somewhere and I want to tie him to a strippers pole as soon as we can, after you make you little speech and we search him," she said while wiping her forehead.

His only response was to grin. "Okay then, Jose Porla. You truly are scum. I will never understand your reasons, and luckily, I don't even have to. Just know that you're gonna end up in prison for years."

Jose laughed. "And with what evidence, boy? You can't prove anything. You really think they would believe you and the hookers here over me?" He laughed again, before spitting in Sting's face.

"Well, lucky for us, we recorded the whole thing." He pointed to the necklace he was wearing. "See this cute little thing? There's a camera in here, that has recorded it all."

"Besides, Sting-san and Lucy-san have Juvia and Gajeel-kun to testify against Master Jose," a new voice rang through the room.

Jose, finally realising just how deep he was in, looked as if he saw a ghost.

"Ame Onna.." he whispered. "Have you come to rescue your good old Master? Good girl. I knew that I had trained you well. Very good. Jose will treat you for this. What about one day off, when you can do a killing job? I remember you always syaing you wanted to do one of those. I think I can arrange that, together with Kurogane, and then you two can come back to me and please me more with all you ha-"

A gunshot that rang through the air made him cry out in pain as blood started dripping from his shoulder.

"Shut yer damned trap, old creep. Ya heard blondie over here. 'Sides, Juvia and me also got enough on you ta get ya behind bars for years. Hope ya enjoy rotting in hell," Gajeel's gruff voice said.

"Gajeel! At least try to be a bit nicer to him!" Levy scolded him, holding his arm that was still holding the gun.

At the sight of her, Jose licked his lips. "You look pretty, tiny girl. Would you like to join my collection? I could use feisty girls like you that aren't afraid to step up to people like Kurogane."

Levy's eyes shot fire as she walked up to him.

"You listen to me, you creep. You're the one that haunted Lu-chan for years and if you even _think_ that I would want to join your little harem you are extremely wrong! I sure as hell hope Lucy got you good and judging from how pathetic you look now, she did. There's just one little thing she forgot to do."

Levy bowed down, and wispered; "This." Then she kneed him in the groin and Jose groaned in pain.

"Oh don't be such a baby. There's barely anything in there," she snapped.

Then, she walked back to Gajeel, Juvia and Sting.

"So, where's Lucy?" she asked.

"Probably in the back with Lana, the girl that taught her self defense and how to kick. Besides, she told me that her tattoo looks like mine so that means I have found my soulmate! Do you see this bruise here? It's right here, on my abs. Come on, don't be shy! It's okay if you want to look at it or maybe even tou- okay, judging from the glare I just got from the buddy with the gun I'm guessing there will be no touchy. Such a shame. Anyway, Lana gave me this bruise and holy hell, she is amazing! Although I don't actually want to know what would happen if she in fact did get really pissed off with me.. Which reminds me! I gotta tie Jose up to a stripper pole and search his pockets or something.. Don't wanna get Lucy and Lana to be mad at me, that'd be really, really bad for my health.. Yosh! Then that's what I'm gonna do!"

Levy exchanged looks with Gajeel and Juvia.

"Is he always like this?"

"Nah, usually he's worse," Lucy said, appearing back. "Levy! Gajeel! Juvia! What are you all doing here?"

Levy burst out in tears at Lucy's appearance, but Lucy waved it away.

"No worries, I've had worse. Juvia and Gajeel know. Talking about them, how come I never realised? I mean, surely you two must have seen me once."

The answer came from Gajeel and surprised everyone. "We didn't want to think about our pasts, and we didn't want to bring back any painful memories for ya. Must've been hard enough having ta deal with the goofball as a soulmate, let alone having us butting into yer past." Levy gave him a look. "What?! It's true, tiny woman! OI! Stop hitting me with those tiny fists of ya, or I'll get out the tickling monster!"

Juvia stepped in and put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Gajeel-kun is right, Lucy-san. We did not want to bring back those memories, for both ourselves and for you. Juvia is sorry, but she also has to say that it's been a few days since she herself made the connection between you and the blonde girl Juvia saw those years ago."

"Oh, don't worry about that Juvia," she said as she reassuringly squeezed the hand of the other woman.

"Besides, where are Natsu and Gray?"

 **##**

"NATSU DRAGNELL I SWEAR TO THE HEAVENS IF YOU EVER EVEN TRY TO POISON ME AGAIN WITH TOBASCO SAUCE IN MY DRINKS I WILL END YOU AND I WILL TAKE LUNA WITH ME!" Lucy yelled out to her husband, who was grinning madly at her.

"Sorry Luce, just couldn't resist. 'Sides, you're funny when you're pissed off." He then shrugged and returned to cooking dinner for the soon to be three of them.

It had been eight months since the confrontation at Jose's bar, and Lucy was truly happy for the first time in her life. There were still days when she woke up screaming, but it were getting less and less days. She was getting there, slowly.

Imagine their surprise when they found out Lucy was pregnant during the whole confrontation with Jose.

Natsu had gotten extremely mad at her, saying that she should have been more careful when the whole ordeal happened.

She yelled back at him for putting a goddamn fucking knife into his arm when she had left and saying that therefore, he had no right to talk about careless actions since he could have seriously died during that.

In the middle on the fight, Natsu had grabbed her by the waist and kissed her full force.

"I love you, Lucy Heartfilia. So much," he had said, before dropping on one knee.

"I know it's early since we are still in college and whatever, but will you please do me this favour and marry me? For your information, in you say no, I have to go and visit Jeff again to make him change the tattoo that he gave me. So you better say yes because if you don't I sure as hell will make you pay for the tattoo."

At that, Lucy stuck out her tongue. "Jeff likes me, Natsu. He'll do it for free if it's me."

At that, Natsu had groaned and saying things about how it was so unfair that she was a woman and therefore able to use her womanly talents in order to get discounts, to which she responded with saying that she couldn't help the fact he was born as a man because if he didn't she wouldn't have their baby growing now.

"But yes, I'll marry you, Natsu Dragneel."

"Really? You will? Oh man, wait until Ice Princess hears about this! I can't wait!" Lucy only giggled, hugging him close.

They got married withing the next three months and all of their friends had agreed that it was a beautiful ceremony. Lucy had decided she wanted to quit college for at least a year, trying to see if she could write a novel and maybe make a bit of money with it.

Since Natsu was in his last year of college, he decided to try and finish college with flying colours. Luckily, he did and he got a job as soon as he graduated.

The two of them decided to use the fortune that was Lucy's heritage a bit to buy the two of them a house and everything they would need for their little Luna.

When they wanted to decided on a name, Levy was the one that came with the suggestion.

"I think Luna would be a beautiful name. 'Luna' means moon, and I think that it's beautiful for the two of you. You two are each other's sunlight, and without sunlight, the moon isn't visible. I think that it's a beautiful metaphore."

Of course, since Lucy was pregnant and full of hormones, she cried. Then again, she also cried when Natsu changed the TV channels, or whenever she saw a puppy walking down the street.

Sting and Lana had also managed to hit it off. As soon as Sting had stopped with dropping lousy pick up lines, she gave him a chance. Turned out that she still had some old pictures and that their tattoos indeed matched. Lana jokingly said that the white flames weren't flames but smoke from the cigarettes whenever someone asked about them.

Gajeel and Levy were also happily going, the two of them living together. Levy had trusted Lucy with the fact that Gajeel had asked her in the most a-romantic way ever, saying that "something so small needs to be protected and that he couldn't do that if she didn't live with him," so he had already packed all of her stuff and had it moved to his place. The memory still made Lucy smile.

Erza and Jellal were also still growing together. It was always funny to tease Erza about them together. Whenever the subject of kissing came up, she would blush and stutter and stumble on her words. However, when it came to sex Erza could say all the dirty details -that none of the girls wantes to know- with a proud face. Jellal was still working on overcoming his issues, but he was getting their.

Gray and Juvia were also engaged. Actually, he had asked Juvia on the evening of Natsu and Lucy's wedding, saying that it was too beautiful of an evening to let it go to waste. Juvia had -of course- cried him a river, but she never looked happier. The pair had also moved in together and it turned out that they were neighbours. Jv=uvia would stop by every other day to see if Lucy and Luna were okay and to see if Natsu and Gray weren't burning down or freezing their homes.

Lucy looked at her husband, and of the way they had come. She looked at the small tattoo that was on her wrist, finally understanding the flames. They meant the burning passion the two of them felt.

"What are ya looking at, Luce?" Natsu asked, resting his forehead on hers and following her gaze.

"I'm looking at art of the soul."

 **Yes. I have waited all this time to say that cheesy af line.**

 **I still can't believe it. My baby is finally done. It's over.**

 **Art of the Soul if the very first story I have started- and finished in seven months.**

 **I would like to thank each and every one of you who has followed this story, favourited it and reviewed! Truly, you all got me going when it was hard for me to write.**

 **In particular, I'd like to thank _laxusdreyar2324_ for reviewing nearly every chapter! Thank you, you've been a big help.**

 **I also want to thank _ayesir-theflyingcat_ and _wickedbug94_**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the ride and I hope that you will check out my new stories! Because yes, I am already having a lot of ideas for new stories. Once I've written them out a bit, I'll let you all know by posting a new chapter from this story that contains only storylines. Hardyhar.**

 **Bringmethekawaiisenpai out! See you all in a next story!**


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